Possibility of a lockdown not ruled out: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

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The possibility of a lockdown in the state cannot be ruled out if the surge in coronavirus cases is not curbed, Maharastra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said while addressing the citizens of the state on April 2.

“We lowered the guards of late, crowding was witnessed at weddings and public places,” the chief minister said.

The chief minister said the state has pumped up its test capacity to 182,000 a day with the help of 500 labs and the capacity will be raised to 250,000 in the next few days. The number of beds in the state has been increased to 3.75 lakh from 8,000-10,000 during pre-Covid times, he added.

Maharashtra on Aprilrecorded 47827 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily count since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The new figure took the state tally of positive cases to 2904076, a Health Department statement said. As many as 202 coronavirus patients died in the state on Saturday, taking the death toll to 55379, it said.

In a separate development, authorities in Maharashtra’s Pune ordered a 12-hour night curfew starting 6 pm April 3. Eateries, bars and restaurants will remain shut for seven days starting April 3 in view of a substantial rise in coronavirus cases of late, a senior official said on April 2.

The administration introduced these “stricter restrictions” in the district, which reported more than 8,000 COVID-19 cases in the past two consecutive days.

The decision to impose these curbs was taken during a review meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on April 2.

Maharashtra’s Nagpur district on April 2 recorded a single-day spike of 4,108 cases that has raised the tally of infections in the region to 2,33,776, an official said.  With the addition of 60 casualties, the toll has reached 5,218, the official said. Of the deaths reported so far, Nagpur city alone accounted for 3,310 fatalities, he said.