Uddhav preps Maharashtra for lockdown with 'minimum economic disruption'

Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane and Nashik are the most affected districts, accounting for a bulk of the cases

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday asked the state administration to prepare for a lockdown in view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the state.
 
The state recorded 35,726 new cases on Saturday, which is over 60 per cent of the national case. This was the second-highest daily rise, which took the tally to 26,73,461. At 166, the state reported the highest number of fatalities due to Covid-19 in this year so far.
 
In a meeting held with the chief minster on Sunday, Health Minister Rajesh Tope and other officials, members of the Covid-19 task force expressed apprehension that the state might report 40,000 fresh cases in the next 24 hours, an official release said.
 
With the infection spreading fast, availability of hospital beds has become a serious challenge. In some districts, beds are not available. Along with planning for more beds and adequate oxygen supply, Thackeray directed the officials to prepare for tougher restrictions.
 
“In an event of lockdown, our strategy will be to ensure that disruption of economic activity is minimum,” said Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte. Construction sites, factories, and other establishments where it is possible to follow social distancing may be allowed to function.
 
"There should not be any kind of confusion among the people once a lockdown is announced,” the CM is quoted as saying.
 
Thackeray has asked the relief and rehabilitation department to prepare a standard operating procedure (SOP) for a lockdown for limited period of time. The entry of visitors, too, will be banned at all government offices.
 
Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane, and Nashik account for a bulk of the cases. Experts said delay in testing and hospitalisation and non-adherence to quarantine and isolation norms were causing the spike. Teenagers in age of 10-17 years are getting infected by the virus, the task force members told the chief minister.  “The proportion of Covid-19 patients requiring ICU treatment is still low. But if the cases continue to rise and people do not show appropriate behaviour, our health infrastructure will be overwhelmed,” Kunte said.
 
The state administration has banned gathering of five or more persons between 8 pm and 7 am. Cinema halls, malls, restaurants, and public spaces like beaches and gardens too will be shut in those hours.
 
The Union Health ministry said on Sunday eight states and Union Territories have a weekly positivity rate of coronavirus infection higher than the national average of 5.04 per cent, with Maharashtra recording the highest rate at 22.78 per cent. The total tests for Covid-19 conducted across India have exceeded 240 million while the cumulative positivity rate continues to remain below 5 per cent, the ministry said.