Mumbai: BMC restricts entry of people at its offices
In the wake of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has restricted the entry of people at its headquarters and other offices in the city. Except for public representatives and citizens who have urgent work or meetings scheduled, no other visitor will be allowed to enter the BMC offices, as per a circular issued by the civic body on Monday.
Passes based on negative RT-PCR report needed for entry
In exceptional cases, the department heads should issue entry passes to people on the basis of their negative RT-PCR test reports from less than 48 hours ago, said the circular. Civic officials have been asked to make provisions for accepting letters and representations at the entry gates of the BMC headquarters in south Mumbai and its other offices, it said.
Officials told to conduct online meetings
Civic officials have also been directed to conduct online meetings with staff members instead of physical meetings. The city civic body had enforced similar restrictions last year also to control the spread of the coronavirus infection, after its outbreak in March 2020. Meanwhile, on Monday, Mumbai reported 9,857 new cases of the infection, taking its tally to 4,62,302, as per the BMC.
Maharashtra still remains a hot spot for COVID-19 infections
India on Sunday reported more than one lakh fresh coronavirus infections, marking the biggest single-day spike since the pandemic began. The nationwide tally has now reached 12.6 million cases. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India. To date, it has reported around three million COVID-19 positive infections, with 2.52 million people having recovered and 55,878 losing their lives.
Entertainment industry has also been hit hard
Notably, the entertainment industry has also been badly hit by the virus, leading to the danger of halting ongoing shootings which will also affect daily wage earners. Industry insiders say they are amping up safety measures, including regular RT-PCR tests, to control the spread of COVID-19 on the sets of the on-ground productions as they cannot afford to suspend filming activities.
Akshay Kumar was hospitalized on Monday
Actors like Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Vicky Kaushal recently tested positive for coronavirus. Kumar was shooting for Ram Setu and as many as 45 members of the film's crew have also tested positive. Seema Pahwa, Govinda, Ritwik Bhowmik, Rupali Ganguly, Aditya Narayan, and Abhijeet Sawant have also tested COVID-19 positive. Aamir Khan and R Madhavan are currently on the road to recovery.
