Can't afford lockdown, asked CM to consider options: Maharashtra Minister

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray speaks during a virtual meeting

Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik has said that the state cannot afford a lockdown and he has asked Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to consider other options.

"We can't afford a lockdown. We've asked the CM to consider other options. Due to rising cases, he has directed the administration to prepare for a lockdown but that doesn't mean that a lockdown is inevitable. If people follow rules, it can be avoided," Nawab Malik told ANI.

At a meeting with senior health officials and COVID task force, CM Uddhav Thackeray instructed them to prepare for restrictions similar to lockdown if people continue to violate COVID-related rules.

Maharashtra Chief Minister said that the COVID cases are rising because people are not following guidelines seriously and that is why strict steps like lockdown need to be considered.

Maharashtra reported 31,643 new COVID-19 cases, 20,854 recoveries and 102 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state's health department on Monday.

The total cases reached 27,45,518 including 23,53,307 recoveries and the death toll reached 54,283. At present, there are 3,36,584 active coronavirus cases in the state.

The case fatality rate (CFR) in Maharashtra is at 1.98 per cent while the recovery rate is 85.71 per cent.

As many as 5,888 new COVID-19 cases were found in Mumbai while 3,561 patients were discharged today. The recovery rate in Mumbai is 85 per cent.

Nagpur reported 3177 new COVID-19 cases, 2600 recoveries and 55 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total cases in the district surged to 2,21,997 including 1,78,713 recoveries and 4,986 deaths. There are 38,298 active cases in Nagpur.

According to the health ministry, India registered 68,020 new cases in the last 24 hours, out of which Maharashtra reported the highest daily new cases at 40,414, followed by Karnataka with 3,082 while Punjab reported 2,870 new cases.