Pune Divisional Commissioner Dipak Mhaisekar on Friday said that although the administration, so far, had not banned large congregations such as Holi parties, it would certainly discourage such gatherings in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) threat. In a joint press conference on Friday, Mhaisekar and Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said there has not been a single case of COVID-19 in Pune district, or in the state, and there was no reason for local residents to panic. Mhaisekar and Ram appealed to people not to spread rumours about the infection or believe unconfirmed forwarded messages on social media. “The only authorised laboratory in the country to determine cases of coronavirus is the Pune-based National Institute of Virology. Until a formal confirmation is released, local residents should not believe the rumours. At the moment, there’s not a single case of coronavirus infection in Maharashtra,” said Mhaisekar. When asked about Holi, Mhaisekar said considering that the festival was marked with liquid colours and intermingling, people should avoid playing Holi in large groups, especially with unknown people. “.. Although we are not moving to ban Holi parties (organised by private event managers), we urge residents to avoid participating in such events,” said Mhaisekar. Ram reiterated that local residents should go about their daily lives in a normal fashion as there was no reason for alarm. “They have to take simple precautions pertaining to personal hygiene, avoid getting into large crowds or physical contact with those who have visited foreign countries recently. As per our information, there are a total of 332 individuals, of which only one is a foreign national, who came to India from abroad following the outbreak. They are being kept under observation for 14 days. 219 such passengers have completed the follow-up period and were found to be uninfected,” said Ram. The district collector also clarified that spread of the virus was not linked to meat consumption as, in India, meat was always cooked well before consumption. “It’s true that sale of chicken, mutton has fallen due to rumours and fear but there are no directives from central or state health agencies linking spread of virus with meat,” said Ram.
