Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, March 31: With the union home ministry officially declaring closure to all emergency restrictions for the pandemic from Saturday, many state governments have decided to drop the Covid-related restrictions including wearing of masks.
Quickest to take the decision to do away with the Covid-related restrictions was one of the worst-hit Covid states, Maharashtra, which almost all through the two years of pandemic remained at the top of the list of number of daily cases of infections recorded and the number of daily fatalities in the disease. West Bengal, Delhi and several other states also dropped most of the Covid-related restrictions from Saturday to bring back complete normalcy of the pre-pandemic days.
Maharashtra decided to say goodbye to all pandemic-related restrictions imposed under the Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Diseases Act in the state from Saturday as the state welcomes the Marathi New Year “Gudi Padwa.” The use of masks will be advised, but it will not be compulsory, the state government said. West Bengal and Delhi too, removed the “mandatory” tag from masks, though their use has been advised in crowded areas.
In Maharashtra, the announcement came from the Office of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. “All COVID restrictions in Maharashtra will be lifted, as we bring in the New Year this Gudi Padwa!” read a tweet from its handle, referring to the spring festival to mark the traditional New Year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus. The decision to drop all restrictions after nearly two years was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, the state Health Minister, Rajesh Tope, told reporters.
“Gudi Padwa is the beginning of the new year. This is the day to start a new work by keeping aside the old one. For the last two years, we have successfully battled the deadly Coronavirus, and today it seems to be fading. To make a fresh start, the restrictions imposed during the corona period under the Disaster Management Act as well as the Epidemic Diseases Act are being completely lifted from Gudi Padwa (April 2),” said Thackeray, in a statement issued by the CM secretariat. He, however, added that to prevent future outbreaks of Covid-19, people need to wear masks, follow social distancing and get vaccinated. “People should take care of themselves and others by following Covid-appropriate behaviour,” said Thackeray. Sources in the government said that the restrictions could be imposed again in case there is an increase in Covid-19 cases in the state.
Tope further said that countries in the US, UK and Europe have already become mask-free. “But we have made it optional. The decision has been taken by the chief minister and all others in consultation with the task force and the health department,” he added. The decision to do away with Covid-related restrictions will pave the way for grand celebrations of upcoming festivals such as Gudi Padwa, Ramzan, Ram Navami and the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar, among others.
The number of fresh daily Covid infections in the state has dwindled to around 100 a day and no new fatalities are being reported. On Monday, there were 964 active cases across 35 districts. Yavatmal, Washim and Hingoli districts have zero active cases, read a report from the state health department. Altogether, the state has reported 78,73,619 cases of infections since the outbreak started in 2020; 1,47,780 people have died, the health department said.
Over the last couple of months, the countrywide Covid figures have also dropped. Over the last 24 hours, the country reported 1,225 new coronavirus infections, the number of active cases dipped to 14,307.The number of fatalities rose to 5,21,129 with 28 fresh deaths. The total number of infections so far in the country was 4,30,24,440. Maharashtra, which bore the brunt of Covid through the first and second wave, had implemented tough restrictions, banning processions and physical “darshan” at pandals during last year’s Ganesh Chaturthi, the state’s biggest festival. The police declared that any violation will incur strict action.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) also on Thursday decided to do away with a fine for not wearing face masks in public places amid a fall in Covid-19 cases. “Delhi will stop imposing fines for not wearing masks. Currently, the fine is ₹500. However, this does not mean that the Delhi govt endorses people not wearing masks. Intensive campaigns will be conducted to promote wearing of masks,” the Delhi government said. Until now, a fine of ₹500 was imposed for not wearing masks in public places across the national capital. In November last year, it was increased to 2,000 when the city seeing a surge in cases.