“Lockdown will have to be reimposed if the situation doesn’t improve” Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray called the coronavirus situation in the state as serious and warned that lockdown would have to be reimposed if daily Covid cases continue to rise in the next two weeks. In a virtual address, he said it would take “8 to 15 days” to ascertain if the current upsurge in daily figures is a fresh wave of infections. He also warned people to follow coronavirus protocols to avoid lockdown.
“Do we need a lockdown? If you behave responsibly, we will know in the next eight days. Those who don’t want a lockdown, will wear a mask. Those who want a lockdown, will not wear one. Wear a mask and say ‘No’ to the lockdown,” he said.
“Whether this is a second wave or not, we will understand this in the coming 8 to 15 days,” he added.
After a lull of three months, Maharashtra, which has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country, reported over 6,000 daily cases last Friday. On Sunday, the state recorded 6,971 cases and 35 deaths. Mumbai, the state capital, logged 921 infections.
“The coronavirus figures are rising…the state was reporting around 2,000-2,500 daily cases; now, it is reporting nearly 7,000…active cases have jumped from 40,000 to 53,000…last year, the numbers that we had been getting during the Covid peak, are almost equal to what we are getting now…just think what the figures would be when we hit the peak again,” he said.
Thackeray said that local administrations have been permitted to place restrictions in the worst-affected districts.
