CHIEF MINISTER Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asked the district collectors of Marathwada, North Maharashtra and Vidarbha regions to increase Covid-19 tests and strictly collect fines from those who do not wear face masks.
Thackeray reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the three regions through a video-conference with the guardian ministers and senior bureaucrats from Mantralaya. On Friday, Thackeray had reviewed the novel coronavirus situation in Konkan and Pune regions.
The review meets come two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the chief ministers of seven states to focus on the districts that have a large number of infection cases. During the video-conference, Thackeray had informed Modi that the state was aiming to conduct 1.5 lakh Covid-19 tests daily.
On Saturday, Thackeray said the RT-PCR tests conducted in some of the districts in Marathwada, North Maharashtra and Vidarbha regions were below the state’s daily average of 80,000 tests. “So, the number of RT-PCR tests needs to be increased in all these regions,” the CM said. He also said efforts would be taken to make the state most health literate rate in the country.
Referring to the possibility of a second wave of Covid-19 outbreak worldwide, he said, “For restarting the economic cycle, youngsters are coming out for work. But this has also increased the possibility of taking the virus to senior citizens in their houses. That is why the emphasis is needed on awareness. So, attempts should be made to ensure that those coming out of their houses must wear masks. If required, fines should be imposed on them effectively.”
Appreciating the innovative initiatives taken by various districts under the ‘My family, my responsibility’ campaign, the CM suggested that district collectors should take the help of folk artistes to create awareness about the impact of the lockdown and the changing lifestyle.