Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday expressed concern over the rise in the number of fresh as well as active COVID-19 cases in the state, terming it as an "alarming" situation, and said stricter measures will be imposed to stem the infection spread.

In fact there is an anticipation that Mumbai might witness over 2000 Covid cases on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters here, Tope urged people and authorities to exercise caution at a time when the new coronavirus variant Omicron has fuelled worries about a fresh spurt in cases.

He emphasised on strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols and ramping up of vaccination against the infection.

The minister said looking at the rising coronavirus numbers, stricter measures will be imposed, but did not provide details on the nature of curbs.

The current curbs have to be observed strictly at parties and other public events, he said.

He said in the last 8 to 10 days, the active cases in the state stood in the range of 5,000 to 6,000.

On December 10, the state had 6,543 active cases of COVID-19, according to a health department bulletin.

On Tuesday, the state had 11,492 active cases and on Wednesday (Dec 29), their number may cross the 20,000-mark, the minister said. The rise in active cases in Maharashtra is "alarming", he said.

Tope expressed concern over the fast doubling rate of cases in the state, and the rising number of infections in Mumbai.

The minister said Mumbai may clock over 2,200 fresh cases on Wednesday as against 1,377 infections on Tuesday.

"Everyday, 51,000 tests are conducted in Mumbai, but if 2,200 people test positive, then the positivity rate stands at 4 per cent, which is not good. We need to be cautious," he said.

Tope emphasized the need to reduce contacts, wear face masks and maintain social distancing.

Maintaining that COVID-19 vaccination should be ramped up, Tope said a list has been prepared of those left out of the inoculation drive so far.

Maharashtra will not allow any vaccine wastage, he said.

Tope said leaders across all parties, religious figures and NGOs should urge people to participate in the ongoing vaccination drive.

On Tuesday, Maharashtra reported 2,172 fresh coronavirus cases, up by 50 per cent from 1,426 infections recorded a day before, and 22 new deaths. With these additions, the state's COVID-19 tally rose to 66,61,486, while the death toll increased to 1,41,476, as per the health department.

In an attempt to prepare for the dire condition of Mumbai, with omicron rise, the health ministry is preparing itself to meet the challenges.

The government plans to enhance hospital facility and have ample oxygen cylinder for patients. A special focus is being given to vaccination of both adults and kids.

Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray held a meet to discuss ways to combat the rising Covid threat. He said in a tweet, the purpose of this meet was to review the situation, preparation, as well as to plan for the proposed vaccination for ages 15-18.

Thackeray urged the public to not panic but exercise extreme caution. He said, "As the cases rise rapidly, we urge everyone to not panic. However we all must exercise extreme caution and ensure that we are vaccinated, masked up. This is a time to protect one’s self and thereby protect others."

Children's vaccination between ages 15-18 are to carried out at the beginning of January.

The minister said that he had already written a letter to the Union Health Minister talking about the importance of children's vaccination. However revealing the plans of the meet he said "In the next 48 hours, @mybmc will be connecting with all educational institutions in the city to plan an organised vaccination drive for all those from 15 to 18 years of age.

Talking about the plans of the government, minister Aaditya states that preparations are ongoing at the hospitals for the proper measures to takle the situation. He says "We have also asked all the covid care jumbo centres to be at stand by, at all readiness levels, along with basic facilities to medical infrastructure".

The young minister is concernd about the festive season excitement coming in the way of covid protocalls. He says that this was also a concern raised in the meet. "We also discussed covid appropriate behaviour guidelines and public place event issues, especially with the New Year being around the corner," Aaditya said.

With PTI inputs