Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked industries to provide accommodation to workers in the company premises in case the third wave of Covid-19 hits the State.

Thackeray held a meeting with government officials to review the preparations to tackle Covid third wave. He directed district collectors to hold meetings with industrialists and guide them to provide accommodation to workers in company premises so that they don’t have to travel and could maintain social distance. Thackeray said that if it is not possible to create accommodation facilities in the company premises, nearby locations must be identifiedto accommodate the workers.

“To continue the industrial work and economic activities and stop the spread of coronavirus it is necessary that travel and social contact of workers is restricted. The second wave of Covid-19 has not ended and we have taken a calculated risk to re-start economic activities. It is a must to follow the norms to avoid the spread of coronavirus” said Thackeray.

Also read: ‘Second wave can resurge if people flout Covid norms’

While asking district collectors to gear up to tackle the third wave, Thackeray said that setting up of oxygen manufacturing plants should be expedited.

Genomic sequencing

Chief Minister Thackeray asked the State Health Department to conduct genomic sequencing in Parner block in Ahmednagar district. Genomic sequencing helps to identify SARS-CoV-2 and monitor how it changes over time into new variants.