Maharashtra to consider reopening restaurants and gyms; positive about it: Health Min Tope

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 6,603 fresh cases of COVID-19, taking the tally of confirmed cases to 2,23,724. After the state government had allowed the opening of hotels, lodges, resorts and other places of accommodation for the public, it said that it is planning to reopen restaurants and gyms in the coming days.

State Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said the government is considering the reopening of restaurants and gymnasiums and it is "positive about it". He said if social distancing norms are strictly followed, then there is no problem in reopening these two.

The Maharashtra government on Monday allowed hotels and other entities providing accommodation services outside containment zones to resume operations at 33% of their capacity from July 8. A government notification, which also covers lodges and guest houses, to this effect was issued. 

The permission has been granted on conditions of these entities adhering to social distancing norms and other protocols to avoid the spread of the infection.

The government's move came a day after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray interacted with various associations of hotels and lodges and assured them of taking a decision soon on reopening after finalising Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The on-going lockdown in the state will be in force till July 31.

 While allowing the hotels to reopen partially, the government has asked hoteliers to ensure only asymptomatic guests are given entry.

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91,084 active COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra

The virus claimed the lives of 198 more people, which pushed the death toll in the state to 9,448, the health department said. Of the total number of deaths, 62 succumbed to the infection in Mumbai alone. As many as 4,634 patients recovered from the infection and were discharged from hospitals across the state during the day, it added.

With this, the number of recovered patients has now gone up to 1,23,192. There are 91,084 active cases in the state at present, the department said. Out of the total 6,603 new cases, Mumbai reported 1,347, Pune city 1,049 and Aurangabad city 153 cases. The recovery rate in the state is 55.06% while the fatality rate is 4.22%. So far, 11,61,311 people have been tested in the state.

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(With agency inputs)