Maharashtra govt issues SOPs for Christmas celebration to contain spread of COVID-19
On Wednesday, the Maharashtra government released guidelines for the celebration of Christmas to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state.
On Wednesday, the Maharashtra government released guidelines for the celebration of Christmas to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state. Taking note of the fact that all major religious festivals were celebrated in a very simple manner this year owing to the COVID-19 crisis, it called upon Christians to follow suit. It is mandatory for everyone to scrupulously follow all rules laid down by the Health, Environment and Medical Education departments and the respective Municipal Corporation, police and local administration. Currently, there are 19,02,458 novel coronavirus cases in Maharashtra while 17,94,080 patients have been discharged and 48,876 fatalities have been reported.
Here is the Maharashtra government's SOP for Christmas:
- A maximum of 50 persons can attend the special prayer in the Church to ensure social distancing.
- The church should be sanitised. Special attention should be given to the use of masks and sanitizers.
- Social distancing and hygiene rules should be followed in areas where the Christmas crib, Christmas tree and other things are located.
- The choir in the church should have a maximum of 10 members. They should use different mics and observe social distancing.
- No stalls should be set up outside the church's premises
- Citizens below the age of 10 years and above the age of 60 years should avoid venturing out and instead, celebrate the festival at home.
- The church should try to arrange the facility of online Mass for them.
- People should avoid assembling at a public place in large numbers
- No procession or function which attracts a crowd should be organised.
- Firecrackers should not be burst. People should follow the rules pertaining to noise pollution.
- The Thanksgiving Mass in the Church on December 31 should be held at 7 pm or earlier instead of midnight.
COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra
At present, there are 58,376 active COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra. With 4,122 COVID-19 patients discharged on Tuesday, the number of recovered soared to 17,94,080. Moreover, 75 deaths including 12 from Pune and 11 from Mumbai were reported in the day. So far over 1.20 crore samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in labs operational across the state. While 4,94,815 persons are under home quarantine, 3,660 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. The COVID-19 recovery rate and fatality rate in Maharashtra stand at 94.3%, and 2.57% respectively.
Published By : Akhil Oka
Published On: 23 December 2020 at 19:43 IST