In recent developments, the Maharashtra government on Monday declared that shop timings in the state would be extended to 11 pm, whereas restaurants can stay open up until 12 o'clock midnight. The amusement parks of the state have also been reopened in the recent declaration however, the water rides in these parks will remain shut.
Decisions on Easing Restrictions
These decisions came about in effect after a meeting of the State Covid Task Force was held. The chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackrey attended this meeting where the decision on easing restrictions on shops and restaurants timing was taken keeping in mind the flattening covid curve. Earlier the timing was restricted for shops and restaurants in the state to 10 pm. These directives are expected to be issued by Thursday 21st October.
A senior officer from the state public health department said that they have been expective a spike in the number of cases after the festive season like Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri, but the positivity rate is around 1% so the decision on relaxing these restrictions was taken.
Another meeting is scheduled for the next week by the state force to take a decision on the functioning of swimming pools. The officer informed that decision on opening swimming pools will be taken next week during the meeting. As of now, it is expected that the swimming pools will function at 50% occupancy.
Doctors have affirmed this decision but have also asked the public to be thoughtful about taking appropriate preventive measures against Covid-19. The health minister Rajesh Tope also proposed the idea recently where he said that fully vaccinated people must be allowed to enter the malls and travel in local trains. However, Covid Task Force has disagreed with the proposal.
