Maharashtra CM announces stricter COVID-19 rules till May 1; Section 144 imposed in state

In a massive development on Tuesday, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray announced stricter restrictions in the state to combat the huge surge in daily COVID-19 cases. The new guidelines will come into force from 8 pm on Wednesday, April 14 and shall be applicable till 7 am on May 1. Section 144 has been imposed in the entire state and movement will be allowed only for essential purposes. While public transport will continue for essential service employees, restaurants will be open for home delivery. 

Mentioning that the state is continuously upgrading its healthcare infrastructure, the CM revealed that there is a shortage of medical oxygen and beds and pointed out that the demand for Remdesivir has also increased. Moreover, Thackeray said that he will speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking IAF assistance in the supply of oxygen from nearby states. Meanwhile, the state government unveiled a financial package of Rs.5,400 crore to help persons who will be directly impacted by the restrictions.

For instance, 7 crore beneficiaries under the food security scheme will get 3 kg of wheat and 2 kg of rice for free for one month and the Shiv Bhojan thali will be provided for free. Additionally, the Maharashtra government shall provide Rs.1,500 each to 12 lakh registered construction workers and 5 lakh registered hawkers. While tribal families shall be paid Rs.2000 under the Khavti scheme, Rs.3,300 crore are being spent on district-level schemes in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, there are 35,19,208 novel coronavirus cases in Maharashtra out of which 28,66,097 patients have recovered while 58,526 fatalities have been reported. 

India fast tracks approval for vaccines

At present, there are 12,64,698 active novel coronavirus cases in India while 1,22,53,697 patients have been discharged besides 1,71,058 fatalities. With a huge spurt in the number of daily COVID-19 cases, many states have imposed a night curfew and imposed restrictions on gatherings. While the vaccination is currently open only for those aged above 45 years, the Centre has taken immediate steps to increase the pace of the drive. For instance, the Drugs Controller General of India accepted the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee, paving way for the approval of COVISHIELD, COVAXIN and Sputnik V.

In an important announcement earlier in the day, the Union government declared that those vaccines that have been granted emergency approval for restricted use by USFDA, EMA, UK MHRA, PMDA Japan, or which are listed in WHO (Emergency Use Listing) will be granted emergency use approval in India. In place of the local clinical trial requirement, the post-approval bridging clinical trial shall be mandated. Furthermore, the first 100 beneficiaries of such foreign vaccines shall be assessed for 7 days for safety outcomes before it is rolled out for further immunization programme within India.