Mumbai: A day before Gudi Padwa, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday night announced that the government would withdraw all the COVID-19 related curbs in the state from April 2.

He said the decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackery also announced this on Twitter, he said. "All COVID restrictions in Maharashtra will be lifted, as we bring in the new year this Gudi Padwa!"

Tope announced that the Disaster Management Act and the Infectious Diseases Prevention Act, both of which were implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be repealed.

The use of masks will no longer be required in the state. This effectively ends the requirement, which has been in place for two years, beginning in March 2020. The state government also removed the requirement for a double dose of the COVID vaccine, which was required to travel or board a bus in the state.With the government ending all the restrictions, the hotels, restaurants, buses, and cinema halls will now be run at their full seating capacity.

But the health minister advised people to follow all the COVID-appropriate behaviour even though they have removed all the restrictions. The minister attributed this move to removing all the restrictions on declining COVID cases.

As of March 31, Maharashtra has only 902 active cases with 183 new cases detected and one fatality reported on March 31. Since the pandemic outbreak, the numbers have been at an all-time low.