New Delhi: Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday said that a fresh lockdown will be imposed in the state only if the demand for medical oxygen touches 800 metric tons per day.
The statement comes as Maharashtra government has banned the assembly of more than five persons in public places between 9 pm to 6 am while restricting the number of people allowed at public functions in view of Coronavirus cases and the Omicron threat.
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Speaking to reporters in Jalna, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that Omicron cases were increasing “rapidly”, but in general such patients were not ending up in ICU nor did they need supplementary oxygen, news agency PTI reported.
“There will be statewide lockdown only if the demand for medical oxygen rises to 800 metric tons (per day),” he added.
The minister did not mention the current rate of consumption of medical oxygen in the state.
“We do not want people to face more restrictions, therefore I am making an appeal to people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. Wearing mask is very important,” he stressed.
Omicron Cases In Maharashtra
Two new cases of Omicron variant have been reported from Aurangabad in Maharashtra today, the health department’s release informed.
The two new patients are male, fully vaccinated against coronavirus. One is 50 years old and the other is 33 years old. One of them had returned from Dubai recently while the second person had come into contact with a person with a history of international travel.
One of them is reported to be asymptomatic while the other has mild symptoms.
The two new cases have taken the total tally of Omicron infected patients in Maharashtra to 110.
As per the state health department, the count includes Omicron cases found through screening at Mumbai International Airport wherein two patients each are from Karnataka and Kerala, one each from Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jalgaon, Thane, and Aurangabad.
On the other hand, as many as 57 Omicron patients have been discharged after testing negative for COVID-19 in subsequent testing.
Since November 1, samples of 729 international passengers have been sent for genome sequencing in the state, of which results of 162 are awaited, the health department informed.
As for overall COVID-19 cases, 1,485 new infections were recorded in the state on Saturday, along with 12 fatalities and 796 discharges.
Total 65,02,039 COVID-19 patients have been discharged in the state after full recovery; the recovery rate in the state is 97.68 per cent. The case fatality rate in the state is 2.12 per cent.
(With Agency Inputs)