Congress minister hails 'Amravati pattern' as cases surge in Maharashtra
What's the story
A decision to impose "lockdown" under the garb of a "janata curfew" (voluntary shutdown) in the last week of February as coronavirus cases started to build up in most parts of Maharashtra helped Amravati tackle the onslaught better than others, the district's guardian minister Yashomati Thakur said on Monday.
Here are more details on this.
Situation
Maharashtra is witnessing the country's most severe surge: Thakur
She said the situation in Maharashtra, currently witnessing the most severe surge in the country, would have been different if the "Amravati pattern" was implemented statewide earlier.
When the number of cases spiked from 1,000 to 1,200 quickly in February, a firm decision was taken to impose widespread restrictions, Thakur, who is state Women and Child Development Minister, said.
Lockdown
Amravati was first to impose restrictions amid second wave: Thakur
"We decided on February 26 to impose a lockdown resisting criticism and opposition. We started with a weekend lockdown (janata curfew). Later, for 10 to 12 days, we went in for complete lockdown, excluding essential services, MIDC, and vegetable markets," Thakur mentioned.
The minister asserted Amravati was the first to take such a step when the "first signs of the second wave were noticed."
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Restrictions were relaxed when situation gradually turned normal
"As the situation gradually turned normal, shops were allowed to remain open till 5 pm, and other measures were also taken, like carrying out vaccination drives in markets and ensuring some 5,000 people were inoculated in the district per day," she said.
Details
'Number of daily cases went down from 1,000 to 300'
"In 13 days, we managed to control the number of cases added daily from 1,000 to about 300. If the entire state had taken a similar decision, we wouldn't have seen such a situation," Thakur, a Congress MLA from Teosa in Amravati, claimed.
The government is now working on the Amravati pattern, Thakur added.
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District is catering to patients from other cities: Thakur
"With the number of cases in control in Amravati, the district is being able to cater to patients from Nagpur, Vidarbha's largest city, as well as Chhindwara and Betul in neighboring Madhya Pradesh," Thakur said.