‘Out of control,' says SC as it seeks COVID report from 4 states

The Supreme Court on Monday (November 23) said “worse things may happen in December” as it sought status report from four states over the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The apex court has sought report in two days from Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Assam. Maharashtra has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country with 17,80,208, as on Monday at 8 am, while Delhi’s caseload is 5,29,863. Gujarat has 1,97,412 cases and Assam 2,11,513.

“We are hearing of a huge spike in the current month. We want the latest status report from all states. Worse things may happen in December if states aren’t well prepared,” the top court said, according to a report on NDTV.

In these states, the situation is “going out of control”, a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said.

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Meanwhile, a 57-hour curfew in Ahmedabad ended on Monday but Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, in a Facebook address on Sunday (November 22), said there will be night curfew in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara from 9 pm to 6 am.

“From tomorrow (November 23), only night curfew will be imposed, which began in three cities (Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot) from last (Saturday) night. From tomorrow, there will only be night curfew (in these four cities),” he said. The police will impose a fine of ₹1,000 for mask violations, the CM said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged people to follow social distancing and said, “We are standing at a dangerous turn.”

“The second wave seen in several parts of the country like Delhi and Ahmedabad and the western countries looks like a tsunami and not a wave and we have to be cautious…crowding will not kill coronavirus, but help it spread more,” Thackeray said.

“The spiralling cases in Delhi is a cause of concern and there is night curfew in Ahmedabad. I don’t want another lockdown, but you should also understand the gravity of the situation,” he said.

“We are standing at a dangerous turn. We have to decide whether we want to go for a lockdown or follow all the mandatory COVID-19 safety protocols,” the chief minister said.