The Delhi High Court on Friday called for strict action to be taken against those violating rules regarding wearing of masks and hand hygiene at airports and inside aircrafts. The HC said violators should be physically removed if need be and also directed the Image result for Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to impose heavy fines on such violators.
This comes amid a rise in Covid across the country, as India crossed the 4,000-mark after 84 days, taking active cases to 21,177, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said people should use face masks, vaccinate themselves, and follow discipline if they don’t wish to experience Covid-19 restrictions again. He also said, citing experts’ opinion, that cases might further rise.
Speaking at the state Covid-19 task force meeting amid a rise in the number of cases over the past few days, Thackeray said the government will keep a watch over the situation for a fortnight.
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 1,045 new coronavirus infections and one death, taking the active tally to 4,559. The sole death in Mumbai – that of a woman below the age of 40 – comes after 17 days no deaths due to Covid.
“If people don’t want restrictions again, they should follow discipline on their own. Use masks, observe physical distance, sanitize and vaccinate,” he said, adding that the cases had risen by seven-fold in the last one-and-half month.
Mumbai, which witnessed 704 cases on Thursday, Thane, Pune and some other urban areas are driving the surge and account for 97 per cent of the tally.
Mumbai’s positivity rate, or cases detected per 100 tests, stood at 6 per cent, double that of the state, which was 3 per cent.
State Health Secretary Pradeep Vyas, who gave a detailed presentation of the virus situation during the meeting, said the state reported the lowest 626 active cases on April 16 this year, while it had risen to over 4,500 on Thursday.
CM Thackeray directed officials to keep ready field hospitals, constructed during the peak of the pandemic, as well as take stock of existing health infrastructure. He also stressed on the need for expediting vaccination.
The CM said schools will reopen soon and asked the authorities to seek information about what decisions have been taken in other places about safety of children and what are the chances of them getting infected. He also asked people to get themselves tested if they were experiencing cold, cough and throat irritation.
“Wear masks in crowded public places. Vaccination of the 12-18 age group should be expedited and booster dose should be taken. Oxygen and medicines should be kept on standby. Monsoon-related illnesses have symptoms like COVID 19 and, hence, doctors should advice their patients to get themselves tested,” Thackeray said.
Earlier in the day, deputy CM Ajit Pawar said the surge in Maharashtra may prompt the public health department to make masks mandatory again.
Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of the state Covid task force, told Times of India that the Mumbai and Pune metropolitan regions are witnessing a “silent” wave of mild Covid infections, which is driving up cases in Maharashtra. He said that it is essential to wear masks in indoor spaces, especially in hospitals, movie theatres, malls, transport hubs, etc.
Covid cases surge in Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
The number of Covid-19 cases detected in Hyderabad over the past 48 hours has more than doubled, government data showed. The number of cases on Monday, which was 30, increased to 61 as of Wednesday. The Telangana health department stated that 75 new cases were reported across the state on Wednesday, an increase from 42 cases logged as of Monday.
Tamil Nadu has been witnessing a rise in fresh infections over the last few days with majority of them contributed by clusters emerging at educational institutions. 145 fresh infections were recorded on Thursday and as many as 63 people recuperated in the last 24 hours, leaving active caseload at 711. Chennai accounted for the majority of new cases with 58 infections.
In Kerala, the number of new Covid-19 cases in a day has again crossed the 1,000 mark. From 1,197 cases on Tuesday, new cases went up to 1,370 on Wednesday. This is the first time after two months the number of daily cases has surpassed 1,000 in the state.
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