Following an all-party meeting to address the issue, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is in favour of a full lockdown in the state, which is grappling with an unprecedented rise in coronavirus cases, according to sources.
Maharashtra, which has been registering about half of the country’s new infections every day, imposed a night curfew and a weekend coronavirus lockdown this week, but sources say Mr Thackeray is in favour of tighter restrictions to break the transmission chain.
According to reports, not all members of the ruling Shiv Sena-Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance, as well as the opposition BJP, are in favour of a lockdown.
“Lockdown of a few days is necessary and then relaxations can be given. The Chief Minister will hold a meeting with the state Covid task force on Sunday,” Deputy Chief Minister Ashok Chavan told the news.
Former CM Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP said, “If you impose lockdown, people will be angry. Many businesses will be shut. Think about that. His party’s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil said. BJP is not against lockdown but there should be a proper plan before going ahead.”
Maharashtra registered nearly 59,000 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 32.88 lakh, while 301 patients died, bringing the total number of deaths to 57,329, according to the state health department.
Over the last few days, the state has reported over 55,000 incidents. On April 7, the highest single-day spike of 59,907 cases was recorded.
More About Coronavirus Stats:
On Saturday, India’s daily coronavirus cases hit a new high for the fifth time this week, with deaths reaching their highest level in more than five months, with hospitals and crematoriums in some parts of the country overflowing.
Over the last two weeks, the world’s second-most populated nation has seen the most new cases of any country. India’s total of 1.32 crore is the world’s third-highest, behind only Brazil and the worst-affected nation, the United States.
Many states have introduced new restrictions in response to the second wave of coronavirus infections, which has spread even faster than the first, which peaked in September, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not implemented a national lockdown due to the high economic costs.
On Thursday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the state was on the verge of a coronavirus lockdown.
“We are heading towards a lockdown but I hope that we don’t have to go for one. Before that if we contain the virus, we will be happy, satisfied and content. We are hoping for the best,” Mr Tope told media in an interview.
