Experts said the strain has not propelled a surge in cases like Omicron, but advised strict adherence to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.
Tope's remarks on the forthcoming drive wherein people above 18 years will become eligible for immunisation came amid reports that many people in Maharashtra are not getting the doses due to the shortage.
Tope's comments came a day after the Centre asked the state to align its order with the SOPs issued by the Union health ministry.
Vardhan said that 9.1 crore vaccine doses have been utilised, while 2.4 crore are in stock and 1.9 crore vaccines are in the pipeline, indicating there are sufficient doses available for all states.
"The Serum Institute of India (SII) has informed the state government that it can supply the 'Covishield' vaccine only after May 20," Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.
In a bid to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, only government personnel engaged in providing essential services would be allowed to travel by local trains in Mumbai from Sunday night, a release by the Konkan divisional commissioner said on Saturday night. The restriction, which will effectively shut down the train services, Mumbai's lifeline, will come into effect from the midnight of Sunday, March 22, the release said.
In a series of tweets, the health minister said the availability of vaccines can be better understood by an "actual analysis of the facts".
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday said the lockdown rules will remain unchanged in the state will May 3. Tope said there was no clarity in the Centre's latest order regarding reopening of shops.
Pool testing reduces the number of test kits used, and therefore, increases testing capacity. Under the plasma therapy technique, transfusion of plasma from recovered patients to severally ill COVID-19 patients is conducted.
Many people are not maintaining social distance and do not wear masks, exposing themselves to the infection, experts say.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope warns that the state government will go aggressive if appeals to reduce social distancing are not adhered to.
Early detection will bring down the mortality rate, the minister said, adding that the government plans to increase institutional quarantine facilities.
Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, became a much talked about subject after some recovering and recovered coronavirus patients were found infected with the disease, whose symptoms include headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion and partial loss of vision.
'If deaths had been properly reported, it would have helped contain the pandemic.'
He claimed Maharashtra is the only state which has upgraded its health infrastructure to tackle the pandemic 'like no other country has done'.
Tope also admitted that the "chalta hai" (laidback) attitude had creeped in after the government flattened the infection curve.
'I think nobody is creating any hurdle into this issue. The case was with the Maharashtra police, who are well-known for their functioning.'
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Satav died on Sunday, days after recovering from the coronavirus infection, hospital sources said.
No vaccination against Covid-19 will be held in Mumbai for the next three days as the existing stock of doses has been exhausted, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday evening.
Several vaccination centres across Mumbai, including a jumbo COVID-19 facility in business district BKC, suspended inoculation on Friday morning due to a shortage of doses, BMC sources said.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that mucormycosis or black fungus, which has claimed 90 lives in the state so far, is a matter of prime concern for it at present, and the state government needs more supply of the medicine used in its treatment.
This year's T20 World Cup is set to be moved from India to the UAE with the BCCI acknowledging that none of the participating teams would be 'comfortable' coming here because a third wave of COVID-19 cases is expected at the time of the event.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the lowering of rates for the tests would provide a relief to the people.
Aishwarya's mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan has tested negative.
"At least for 15 days if people stay strictly indoors, like last year, we may expect better results. Please advise your government," the high court said.
In keeping with the committee's directives, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has been asked to arrange for more beds and increase testing across Mumbai, Tope said, adding that tents can also be put up in open grounds if needed. The IMCT on Wednesday visited quarantine facilities and transit camps at Dharavi to assess the corrective measures taken by the state government.
Modi said India has taken an important step forward in protecting its youth population against the disease.
Satara, Sangli, Panvel have stopped vaccination while Buldhana has only one day's vaccine doses left in stock, said Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
Some states have flagged the shortage of vaccines and expressed their inability to start vaccination of people above 18 years from Saturday
'We urge the government to have discussions with private labs on the actual cost of running a test.'
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the exact cause behind the death of the 64-year-old is being ascertained as the deceased was also suffering from various ailments.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday night announced a statewide curfew in Maharashtra for 15 days from April 14. However, he clarified, essential services were exempt from the curbs.
'The spread of COVID-19 is not increasing across Maharashtra.' 'Only Mumbai remains a concern.'
On the basis of feedback from the teams, the ministry has written to the states highlighting the areas of concern, including sub-optimal containment operations and contact tracing, skewed testing and shortage of health workers. Authorities need to work in these areas, it said.
'There has been no significant increase in the number of fatalities.'
As cases of 'black fungus' among COVID-19 patients in the country rise to cross 7,000, the Centre on Thursday urged all states and union territories to declare it as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act to ensure mandatory surveillance to tackle the 'new challenge'.
Three doctors and 26 nurses have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai's Mumbai Central area.
Vardhan, who interacted with chief ministers, state health ministers, principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries of Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Goa through video conferencing and urged them to focus on effective clinical management of COVID-19 cases to reduce deaths in the first 24, 48 or 72 hours.
The Maharashtra Health Minister said that the rise in the number of patients is a major cause of concern and people's cooperation is needed to fight out the outbreak.
Experts believe that under-reporting is likely to cause an underestimation of the spread of the disease.
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