After Nagpur, Maharashtra CM warns of COVID lockdown in other cities too

Hours after the Maharashtra government declared a complete lockdown in Nagpur from March 15 to March 21, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said he is contemplating imposing similar restrictions “wherever required in the next two days”.

“A strict lockdown will need to be imposed in some places. We will take a decision in the next two days and the lockdown will be imposed wherever required,” said Thackeray, after taking the first jab of Covaxin at JJ Hospital in Mumbai on Thursday (March 11), along with his wife Rashmi and other relatives. The CM also asked took note of people in Aurangabad not taking COVID precautions seriously and roaming the streets despite restrictions in place.

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On Thursday morning, Nagpur guardian minister Nitin Raut announced that Nagpur city and adjoining areas will be placed under lockdown from March 15 to March 21.

Only 25 per cent employee strength will be allowed in government offices and industries. All other offices and institutions will remain closed, except essential services like medicine and grocery shops, hospitals, milk and vegetables and fruits outlets. Besides, offices engaged in financial year-end operations can function with full capacity.

Liquor shops and restaurants will remain closed, but home delivery will be allowed. Shops selling meat will also be allowed to remain open. COVID vaccination will go on unhindered.

Nagpur, along with cities like Pune and Mumbai, has seen a spurt in positive cases of late. On Wednesday, Nagpur recorded 1,710 cases.

Also read: Lockdown in Nagpur from Mar 15-21 as COVID cases surge, says minister

Maharashtra too has been recording an average of 8,000+ cases every day, contributing a majority of positive cases in the country for the last few weeks. The only positive news is that Maharashtra’s COVID death rate has gone down from 2,370 in December to 1,561 in January and 1,072 in February.

In Mumbai, restarting local train service is considered one of the main reasons for a rise in cases. In February, the Maximum City clocked 5,296 cases, which rose to 9,373 till Tuesday (March 9), starting March 1.