As Mumbai continues to register a spike in the Coronavirus cases, the guardian minister Aslam Shaikh on Sunday, March 7, warned Mumbaikars of partial lockdown if the spread of the virus was not brought under control in eight to 10 days.
Mumbai Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh mentioned that the government is trying to control cases by implementing restrictions and measures like charging fines for not wearing masks. There is also increased checking to make sure that is no overcrowding at marriage halls, pubs, and various public places.
However, the citizens and government must start taking more steps to curb the cases like increasing testing and speeding the vaccination programmes on a mass level. Despite that, if the cases continue to increase then imposing a partial lockdown could be the only option.
According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city reported 1,360 new cases and five deaths yesterday. The city also recorded the sharpest single-day spike in cases since October 28 when it had reported 1,354 cases in one day.
Moreover, the state Cabinet held a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday to discuss various aspects to tackle the rising number of cases. Sources stated that there were talks to impose partial lockdown, however, no decision has been announced yet. Besides, measures taken in countries such as Brazil, Europe, and UK were discussed in the meeting.
Amid the upsurge in COVID-19 cases in the city, the administration authorities announced partial lockdown from March 11 and full lockdown on weekends.
Meanwhile, the Central government has sent a high-level team to Maharashtra and Punjab to assist their health departments and review the prevailing surveillance, control, and containment measures, reports suggested.
Another central team that had visited Maharashtra on March 1 and 2 has said that the lack of fear of the pandemic among people, recent local body elections, and crowded public transport were among the many factors that may have contributed to the surge in cases.
Surjitt Sahani
