With Covid-19 cases in the country declining, and following the Centre’s nudge, states are considering relaxing the remaining restrictions imposed in the wake of the third wave of the pandemic.
While Haryana lifted all such curbs on Wednesday night, several other states, including Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, and Kerala, are expected to hold review meetings soon to take a call on the matter.
The daily Covid cases have been on a declining trend since January 21, when over 337,000 cases were recorded. The daily and weekly positivity rates have also been consistently below the 5 per cent mark. The country’s weekly Covid positivity rate currently stands at 3.04 per cent.
The Union health ministry in a letter dated February 15 asked all states to review and do away with additional restrictions after considering the trend in new cases and positivity. It said economic activities and the movement of people should not be hampered by additional restrictions imposed at the state level.
States are going for a gradual easing of restrictions. For instance, Gujarat last week relaxed the night curfew timings by three hours, from 10 pm-6 am to 12 am-5 am.
The Maharashtra government is likely to expedite the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions by the end of this month, according to government sources. The state cabinet is expected to meet soon to discuss the matter after taking stock of the Covid positivity rate, hospital admission demand from districts, etc. Mumbai, which was the worst-affected city in the state, currently does not have any active containment zones or sealed buildings.
Delhi, which has lifted most of the curbs but continues with night curfew and curtailed business hours for shops, is likely to revisit its stance during a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority next week. Over 97 per cent of the Covid hospital beds in the Capital are vacant, and the daily positivity rate has dropped from around 30 per cent in mid-January to below 2 per cent in the last few days.