Focus on curbing mortality, not lockdown: Mahindra tells Maharashtra

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra on Monday said more focus should be given on strengthening the medical infrastructure and curbing mortality instead of imposing another lockdown, a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray indicated another phase of restrictive measures in wake of rising Covid-19 cases.

Mahindra, tagging the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office, tweeted: "The problem,@OfficeofUTji, is that the people a lockdown hurts most are the poor, migrant workers & small businesses. The original lockdowns were essentially to buy time to build up hospital/health infrastructure. Let's focus on resurrecting that & on avoiding mortality."

Maharashtra stared at another lockdown as its tally crossed 2.70 million (27 lakh) on Sunday, a day after the death toll shot above 54,000.

In an ominous signal, Thackeray directed the administration to chalk out strategies for the smooth implementation of a possible Lockdown 2.0 in the coming days.

"Plan for lockdown... If there is no adherence to restrictions by the people, we may have to go in for it (lockdown) if people fail to follow the new normal," a grim Thackeray said on Sunday at a meeting of the Covid-19 Task Force.

--IANS

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