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Pune: As Maharashtra veers towards a lockdown, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday held a high-level meeting with the Covid task force of doctors, frontline health workers and other municipal authorities even as Maharashtra witnessed unprecedented spike in Covid-19 cases.
While no clear decision over the imposition of lockdown was taken at this meeting, State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that a decision could be taken over the next two-three days.
The two-hour meeting with doctors and senior municipal authorities focussed on the availability of oxygen, beds, oxygen beds in hospitals, availability of Remdesivir, treatment protocols, ways to enhance the capacity of facilities as well as the imposition of restrictions and fines for violating Covid-19 norms.
“In today’s meeting, the task force has acknowledged that a situation warranting a lockdown has been created in the State. Issues like the duration of the possible lockdown, management of medical facilities and hospitals, enhancement of medical infrastructure to cope with rising cases were discussed… The Chief Minister may take a decision on or after April 14 following the cabinet meeting later in the week,” Tope said.
Principal Secretary Health Dr. Pradeep Vyas said that a staggering four lakh new cases had been reported across the State in just a week between April 4 to April10 while 1,982 deaths had occurred in this period.
“At present, the positivity rate is 26% and the more tests we do, the higher the positivity rate. At present, 75% of the State’s 20,250 ICU beds are filled and 40% of the 67,000 oxygen beds are full. Beds are not available in about 11 to 12 districts,” Vyas said, appraising the grim situation.
Series of meetings are expected to take place over the next two days, including a discussion with the Finance Department, said sources. Sources added that the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s meeting with Deputy Chief Minister and State Finance Minister Ajit Pawar as well as Finance Department secretaries on April 12 would be over the issue of providing relief packages to the daily wage workers and marginalised labourers in the event of a lockdown.
As the State is recording a staggering daily average case surge of over 50,000, some doctors in the course of the two-hour videoconferencing are believed to have recommended a 14-day lockdown.
Doctors discussed ways to address the acute oxygen supply bedevilling several hospitals and the legions of complaints of Remdesivir shortage emanating from all over Maharashtra.
Tope said that a master plan to deal with a lockdown situation was in readiness.
“Regarding the problems over Remdesivir and patients being charged excess, I have had a meeting with the managing directors of seven companies. They have promised to double Remdesivir production in the next 10-15 days besides bringing down costs from Rs. 4000 to Rs. 1,100-1,200 per injection,” Tope said.
The Health Minister also said that henceforth, 100% oxygen would be used only for medical purposes and that companies would directly supply oxygen to civil hospitals, thereby eliminating distributors and retailers.
Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte said that out of 1,200 metric tonnes, 980 metric tonnes of oxygen is currently being used for medical purposes and that this capacity would be increased in the next few days. He also said that efforts were in coordination with the Centre on how to transport oxygen by talking to other states as well as negotiating transport rates across the country.
Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the State Legislative Council, Dr. Neelam Gorhe, who has requested Thackeray to give a three-day breathing period before announcing any lockdown, as well as provide subsistence subsidy to workers and labourers.
“After the lockdown last year, countless workers became unemployed. They also were marooned at the time of the announcement, and several had to walk home due to lack of transportation. So, there must be clear instructions on precautions to be taken while announcing lockdown for the unorganized sector,” said Dr. Gorhe, remarking that the breathing period will give these labourers time to go back to their villages enough time to go to the village.
