'People have to work together to avoid lockdown': Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar mayor amid surge in Covid-19 cases

“I think imposing a night curfew is necessary right now. We are also considering shifting the crowded markets to new sites. All Mumbaikars need to work together to prevent the imposition of a lockdown,” Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Amid a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai, mayor Kishori Pednekar said on Thursday that a night curfew is necessary, adding that all the people of the city have to work together to prevent the imposition of a lockdown.

Mumbai on Wednesday registered 2,377 fresh Covid-19 disease cases and eight more related fatalities. (PTI file photo)

“I think imposing a night curfew is necessary right now. We are also considering shifting the crowded markets to new sites. All Mumbaikars need to work together to prevent the imposition of a lockdown,” Pednekar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The Mumbai mayor on previous occasions had urged people to take all necessary precautions against the disease such as wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing and regular washing/sanitising of hands and warned that failure to do so would lead to another lockdown in India’s financial capital.

Other than Pednekar, Maharashtra minority development minister Nawab Malik also pointed out that no final decision had been taken by the state government on imposing lockdown in Mumbai. “People should cooperate. If the Covid-19 cases keep on going up, the government will have to take tougher measures,” Malik told ANI.

Mumbai on Wednesday registered 2,377 fresh Covid-19 disease cases and eight more related fatalities. Wednesday’s figures have been the highest in nearly 160 days and the caseload has now climbed to 3,49,974 of which 11,551 people have died.

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Maharashtra, on the other hand, saw 23,179 fresh cases on Wednesday - the highest single day-spike since September 11, 2020 when 24,886 cases were recorded by health authorities. This is also the sixteenth time on Wednesday that the daily cases crossed the 20,000-mark since the beginning of the outbreak last year. The state’s caseload is nearing 24 lakh with 53,080 deaths and 21,63,391 recoveries. Amid the worrying situation, several districts in Maharashtra have been placed under lockdown, night curfew or curbs to control the spread of the infection.

The Union health ministry said on Wednesday that almost 60 per cent of all active cases are concentrated in Maharashtra adding the state’s Covid case positivity rate has climbed to 16 per cent against the national positivity rate of 5 per cent.