MUMBAI: A health task force constituted by the Maharashtra government on Tuesday warned that the easing of Covid restrictions may trigger a third wave of the pandemic, if people fail to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. From Tuesday, malls, hotels, and other commercial establishments are allowed to operate till 10.00 pm across the state. The education department has given a green light to schools to begin offline classes for secondary and higher secondary divisions in both urban and rural areas.
The task force said the easing of restrictions was essential to boost the economy, but it can lead to a surge in Covid-19 cases and help trigger a third wave of the pandemic.Dr Sanjay Oak, chief of the task force, said if the demand for oxygen goes beyond 700 metric tonnes per day and if 30,000 patients are either on oxygen support or ventilators, then the government will have to re-impose the curbs.
“We have to also closely monitor the growth and spread of the delta plus variant. In the second wave, the delta virus was there and that spread very speedily across the state and other parts of India,” Dr Oak said. In Maharashtra, a total of 76 cases of delta plus variant cases have been reported. There have also been five deaths linked to the variant.
Dr Oak said the vaccines were manufactured before the advent of the delta plus variant and therefore it is not clear how much effectiveness the vaccines would have. “The vaccine was manufactured and produced before the rise of delta plus variant. Therefore, it is yet to check how much the vaccine is effective on delta plus variant,” he said.