Mumbai: A five-level plan to unlock Maharashtra has come into force from Monday. While the state will remain under lockdown till June 15, certain relaxations have been in districts based on the positivity rate and occupancy of oxygenated beds. As per the state government order, the Public Health Department will have to declare the positivity rate and oxygen beds occupation for each district every Thursday. Based on that information, the district management authority can implement the level of restrictions in their administrative units.
“The local administration can take a call on easing or tightening restrictions based on the situation. It must decide on easing the norms based on the criteria and the five levels set under Break The Chain,” CM Uddhav Thackeray yesterday.
CM Thackeray said that the intensity of the pandemic varies across the state. Hence, these five levels were meant to break the transmission chain and ensure that the economic and social activity was conducted in a disciplined manner.
Districts with a case positivity rate of 5 per cent or less and occupancy of hospital beds is less than 25 per cent will come under Level 1.
Level 2′ would include 5 per cent positivity rate and 25-40 hospital oxygen beds occupancy where CrPC Sec 144 will continue to be enforced. Navi Mumbai, Thane, Ahmednagar, Amravati, Hingoli come under ‘Level 2’.
Those with positivity rate of 5-10 per cent and oxygen bed occupancy less than 40-60 per cent shall be in ‘Level 3’ with the guidelines to “minimize movement post-5 PM on weekdays and weekends”.
Mumbai, Kalyan Dombivali municipal limits, Akola, Beed, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Osmanabad, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg and Solapur are in ‘Level 3’.
The areas with a positivity rate of 10-20 per cent and 60-75 oxygen bed occupancy come under Level 4.
Those with positivity rate of 20 per cent and above with 75 per cent or higher oxygen bed occupancy fall under Level 5 for the unlockdown purposes.
Full List of Activities Allowed in Five-Levels
Local Trains: The local train services will not be thrown open for the general public. It will be restricted for medical and essential services.
Shops dealing with essential items: In Level 1 and 2, they will function as usual. In Level 3 and 4, they will have to stay shut after 4 pm on all days.
Shops dealing with non-essential items: They will function normally in Level 1 and 2, and remain closed after 4 pm in Level 3. They will not be allowed to open at all in Level 4 and Level 5.
Shopping Malls, PVRs: They can resume normal operations in districts under ‘Level 1’, however in Level 2, these establishments will have to function with 50 per cent capacity. In Level 3,4, and 5, Malls, theatres and multiplexes will remain shut.
Restaurants/Eateries: In Level 1, restaurants can open normally, while in Level 5, only home delivery is allowed. In Level 2, restaurants will have to run with 50% capacity. In Level 3, they can have a 50% capacity till 4 pm on weekdays. In Level 4, only parcel and takeaway services are allowed.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases continue to decline in Maharashtra as only 12,557 fresh infections were recorded, the state’s public health department informed on Sunday.
With 14,433 fresh discharges, the state’s coronavirus recovery rate climbed to 95.05 per cent. As many as 233 deaths due to COVID-19 were registered on Sunday.
At present, there are 1,85,527 active cases in Maharashtra while 55,43,267 COVID-19 patients have been discharged after full recovery. The case fatality rate in the state stands at 1.72 per cent.
