Maharashtra to face more Covid curbs? Uddhav to hold another meeting on Sunday
Premium'Chief Minister will hold a meeting with task force tomorrow, after which, a further decision will be taken,' said Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik
Amid massive Covid-19 surge in the state, Maharashtra chief minster Uddhav Thackeray held an all-party meeting via video conference to review the current COVID-19 situation in the state.
During the meeting, Uddhav indicated the imposition of a strict lockdown in the state given the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases, reported news agency PTI quoting ministers.
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2 min read . 10 Apr 2021The meeting was attended by prominent faces of the Mahavikas Aghadi alliance and leaders of BJP, MNS, SP etc.
"Though no formal decision on a lockdown has arrived at the all-party meeting, the chief minister appears to be in favour of a strict lockdown," state BJP president Chandrakant Patil told reporters after the virtual meeting, which discussed the COVID-19 situation in the state for over two hours.
Thackeray reportedly said that a decision on lockdown will be taken after the task force meeting is held on Sunday. "Chief Minister will hold a meeting with task force tomorrow, after which, a further decision will be taken," said Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik.
Malik also added that with rising COVID-19 cases despite the strict protocols, healthcare system is likely to face more pressure in the coming days.
When asked abut lockdown, Malik said,"There is unanimity among the leaders who attended the meeting today that a lockdown or strict restrictions are necessary to break the coronavirus transmission chain. The government will also consider providing a financial package to daily wagers as well as to the people whose livelihood will get affected (due to the lockdown). The meeting was held to arrive at a consensus on steps to be taken."
Post the meeting, Maharashtra Minister Aslam Shaikh said that the state government is trying to avoid lockdown and therefore, it has enforced stricter Covid-19 curbs like a weekend lockdown to contain the virus spread. He also added, "But it seems to have no effect on new COVID-19 cases. All party representatives held a meeting today, to discuss all possibilities to contain the pandemic.
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1 min read . 06:11 AM ISTFurthermore, while addressing a press briefing, Uddhav expressed the need of support from all sectors in the state. "I have been speaking to many people from different sectors, even private hospitals for the last few days. All are ready to support the Government," he said.
"Last year during lockdown people were at home so it wasn't difficult to trace infection. Since now everything is open it is practically very difficult to trace people. The Centre must understand this," the CM further added.
This comes a day after Maharashtra recorded 58,993 new COVID-19 cases, 45,391 recoveries, and 301 deaths. Of these, Mumbai alone reported 9,200 cases, taking the tally beyond 5 lakh-mark.
The state has been recording more than 55,000 cases over the past few days.
The state is currently under a strict weekend lockdown from 8 pm on Friday till 7 am on Monday. Section 144 has also been imposed prohibiting the assembly of five or more people. However, the home delivery of food and essential supplies and movement of students taking various exams are allowed.
Streets near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and headquarters of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation wore a deserted look due to weekend lockdown.
Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 tally hit a record daily high since the outbreak of the pandemic with over 1.45 lakh new infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, taking the cumulative count to 1,32,05,926, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The single-day rise in coronavirus cases breached the 1 lakh mark for the fourth consecutive day.
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