Religious gatherings not allowed in state says Maha CM

    Mumbai, Jul 18 (PTI) Ahead of Bakri Eid and Ganesh
festivals, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on
Saturday reiterated that religious, social and political
gatheringswill remain prohibited in the state in view of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
    Addressing collectors and municipal commissioners via
a virtual meeting, the CM called for replication of the
Dharavi model elsewhere in the state to control the viral
outbreak.
    "Care should be taken to ensure that new containment
zones do not get created," he said.
    The WHO recently praised the successful containment of
the coronavirus spread in Dharavi, a major slum pocket in
Mumbai.
    The CM also asked officials to appoint auditors for
COVID hospitals to ensure that patients are not fleeced.
    He also told them to ensure that adequate facilities
are made available at institutional quarantine centres in
every district.
    The CM called for monitoring the implementation of the
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Aarogya scheme and availability of
beds in hospitals.
    "At present, 540 patients are on ventilator support in
the state," he said, adding that every district will now have
a nodal testing officer.
    The government has decided to ramp up rapid antigen
tests along with swab collection.
    The CM said Rs 2,000 will be given to every plasma
donor and told officials to create awareness among people.
    BMC commissioner I S Chahal, who attended the meeting,
suggested setting up of a unified command centre for the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) where information about all
facilities will be made available.
    He also suggested computerisation of bed management.
    The MMR has been witnessing a spike in new cases.
    The commissioner said asymptomatic patients need not
be hospitalised so that beds remain available for the needy
patients.
    Thackeray said the period of lockdown, which is place
in municipal corporations, should be utilised for contact
tracing and bringing down mortality rate.
    "Lockdown shouldn't be imposed under pressure. Impose
it only if you are confidant that it will help containing the
pandemic. Coronavirus should not reach rural areas from urban
spots," the CM said.
    Health minister Rajesh Tope and medical education
Minister Amit Deshmukh also attended the meeting. PTI MR
NSK NSK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)