Mumbai: After spike in COVID-19 cases, BMC says lockdown possible
A day after Mumbai reported more than 1,500 coronavirus cases, the city's civic body - Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) - has said that it is open to all the options to curb the virus' spread, including a lockdown. On Wednesday, Mumbai witnessed as many as 1,539 new COVID-19 infections, the highest number in the past five months. Here are more details on this.
'If cases go up, we can keep that option open'
Talking about a plausible lockdown, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Suresh Kakani, told News18, "As of now, it is not on our plan. But certainly, if the cases go up like this, and if we are not getting equal support from citizens, then we can keep that option open after detailed review." "That decision will be taken at an appropriate time," Kakani added.
Mumbai sees massive jump in daily cases
While a surge in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai has been going on since weeks, the numbers reported on Wednesday are a huge jump from the past few days. On Tuesday, the city had reported 1,012 new cases, while on Monday, the figure was 1,014.
BMC to shift focus from slums to buildings
The BMC has also announced a shift in its strategy to control COVID-19. The civic body will now shift its focus from slums to buildings and high rises. This has been done because according to the latest data, 90% of Mumbai's COVID-19 cases have been reported from buildings in the last couple of months, while only 10% were from the slums.
'Those who flout rules will be penalized'
Recently, several political leaders have raised concerns over overcrowding in Mumbai's pubs, discotheques, and nightclubs. About this, Kakani said that strict action will be taken against those who flout rules. "We have targeted pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, cinema theaters, shopping malls. All places where footfall is more, if we come across persons not following COVID-19 appropriate behavior, we will penalize them," the BMC official said.
BMC has roped in office bearers of housing societies
"We have roped in the office bearers of housing societies. They can report violations if such cases are reported. We will move them to institutional quarantine, and in some cases, we have also lodged police cases," Kakani was quoted as saying.
Several states reporting rise in COVID-19 cases
Like Mumbai, Maharashtra is also witnessing a major spike in COVID-19 cases. On Wednesday, the state reported 13,659 fresh infections. In fact, a number of states have been registering a rise in coronavirus cases for the past few weeks amid growing concerns over mutated strains of the virus and increasing laxity among people in adhering to COVID-19-related safety guidelines like wearing face masks.
