Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday urged the opposition parties not to protest for reopening of temples amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Do not agitate for reopening of temples but do it against COVID-19," the Chief Minister said without naming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) today.
During the interaction with the doctors across Maharashtra and the members of task force, Thackeray said: "There was a surge in COVID-19 cases after festivals last year. I request all to avoid crowding... Wearing face mask is important even after vaccination."
He further highlighted that the state government has strengthened the health infrastructure. "I had asked the administration to increase oxygen capacity to 3000 MT," he said.
Mentioning other diseases like dengue and malaria, the Chief Minister said: "Cases of dengue and malaria are also increasing but their symptoms are different this time. Therefore, such patients must undergo COVID-19 test as it will be easy to detect early if found."
"With the rise in COVID-19 patients there will be restrictions in bringing oxygen from other states too, so we have to step up our efforts to combat the third wave," he said.
Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte said: "We are planning to set up 450 PSA plants of oxygen and we are also planning to build storage plants across the state. Last time we have imported oxygen from other states but this time we are building our capacity."
Speaking on the COVID-19 situation in the state, Vyas Pradeep Vyas, the Health Secretary said: "Due to the decrease in coronavirus cases in the state, we have decreased the testing. We need to look into it and increase the testing. Pune, Ahmednagar, Satara and Sindhudurg have the highest positive rate which contributes to 70 per cent of total cases in the state. Cases in Mumbai are also increasing," he said.
Maharashtra has reported 4,130 new coronavirus cases and 64 fatalities on Saturday, according to the state health department.
( With inputs from ANI )
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