Amid rising COVID-19 cases, lockdown an option, says Maharashtra CM
A day after Maharashtra witnessed the highest one-day spike of 25,833 COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said a lockdown is an option but he trusts people to follow the norms on their own. Talking to reporters in Nandurbar, Thackeray also appealed to people to get vaccinated against the virus without fear. Here's more.
Thursday's figures topped the earlier highest rise recorded in September
"The COVID-19 situation has become grimmer as the number of new cases on Thursday crossed the earlier highest rise which was recorded in September," Thackeray conceded. "I see lockdown as an option going ahead. But I trust people of the state to cooperate (and follow the COVID-19 norms voluntarily) like the last time," he said.
Get vaccinated, there is no shortage of vaccines: Thackeray
"When the pandemic began last year, there was nothing to fight the virus with," Thackeray said. "But now at least we have vaccines as a shield. The priority now is to ensure that everyone is vaccinated. People should come forward to take the vaccine," he said. "The Union government has assured that there would be no shortage of vaccines," he said.
Few cases of infection despite vaccination reported
There have been a few instances where a person caught the infection after vaccination, but such cases are not "life-threatening," the chief minister said. "Everyone should get vaccinated without fear," he added.
Some districts are already under lockdown
Notably, some places in the state are already facing restrictions. In Aurangabad, a complete lockdown has been imposed on weekends. In Nashik, shops and establishments have been ordered to remain closed between 7 pm to 7 am. Sixteen hotspots have been placed under lockdown until March 31 in Thane. Meanwhile, Nagpur is under strict lockdown till March 21.
COVID-19 guidelines for traveling to Maharashtra
Meanwhile, domestic passengers traveling to Maharashtra from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, and Kerala will need to carry a negative RT-PCR test report conducted 72 hours before. Passengers traveling by trains should carry a negative RT-PCR report with the test conducted 96 hours before the scheduled arrival in Maharashtra. For traveling by road, the negative RT-PCR test certificate will be checked at district borders.
