Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has ruled out the possibility of imposing another lockdown amid increasing COVID-19 cases in the state.
However, he indicated that certain restrictions would remain to prevent the transmission of the virus. He was replying during a debate in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
“Lockdown may be the best tool to break the chain of transmission, but I don’t want it to be imposed. I don’t want to leave people hungry. The economy will stop. On the other side, we’re increasing healthcare apparatus and moving ahead cautiously considering the hard decisions of lockdown taken by some countries that may have better healthcare facilities than us,” he said.
Thackeray said his government had done its best and even the Centre’s team had acknowledged the efforts during its recent visit.
“The Centre’s team told me that we lack nothing, but observed that the system had exhausted itself because of prolonged frontline work. And yet, we’re taking all possible measures to prevent the infection. I’m ready to be a villain in this because I want people safe and healthy,” he said, adding that the vaccination drive had picked up great speed.
“I have asked for the network to be expanded. Some 29 private hospitals have been allowed to vaccinate citizens. I have asked for more in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra.”
Surjitt Sahani
