Maharashtra Govt. Makes Masks Mandatory In State Secretariat

The Maharashtra government has now made it mandatory for anyone entering the state secretariat, mostly officials, to wear a mask. The state government took the decision in the wake of the fact that Maharashtra has surged ahead with the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases.

As on Sunday night, Maharashtra reported 748 cases of Coronavirus positive patients. Of the 748, the city of Mumbai accounted for as many as 418 and this has become a source of concern for the Maharashtra state government.

The Uddhav Thackeray government has put in place a series of measures aimed at cluster areas to contain the spread of COVID-19 in localities like Dharavi and other areas in Mumbai. With more cases being reported from Dharavi, the area has emerged as a source of worry for the authorities who are tackling the crisis with rigorous sanitation and other containment strategies, according to media reports.

In a typical cluster area containment strategy, the area of about 1.5 km around the affected locality is considered a buffer zone and is sanitised. It is subject to frequent checks and visits by sanitation and health department officials.

As the number of cases testing positive rose to five in Dharavi, The BMC is reported to have taken over a private hospital with 51 beds, exclusively for Coronavirus patients from Dharavi. The Corporation, applying provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 ordered that the staff and the entire facility will assist BMC doctors in the war against COVID-19. The hospital will serve as an isolation cum treatment centre.