Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday decided to extend the lockdown-like restrictions in place across the state in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Ministers said that the curbs, which are in place till May 1, are likely to be extended by 15 days but a final decision will be taken by Thackeray.
Health Minister Rajesh Tope told mediapersons that all ministers emphasised that the restrictions need to be extended.
“The Covid-19 situation seems to have stabilised to some extent in the state. The number of daily cases are around 60,000. There is certainly some stability because it was predicted that the number of cases will go beyond the 70,000 mark but it has not happened,” he added.
“We hope that this may be the peak and the numbers will start dropping further in the coming days. The Cabinet has decided to extend the lockdown-like curbs. In my opinion, it will be extended by 15 days but the Chief Minister will take a call on it,” he said.
Revenue Minister and Congress’ Balasaheb Thorat also said that the restrictions must be extended till May 15 to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Officials in the government said that the curbs may be relaxed if the daily number of cases come down further.
“The number of cases have started dropping but it may take another few weeks to bring the situation under control,” said an official.
Over the last three weeks, the state government has gradually imposed restrictions on various activities, including movement of people and public transport.
Now, while only authorised medical and government personnel can board local trains, people can use private or public transport only for emergency purposes.
While government offices are functioning with 15 per cent capacity, private offices are shut.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
