Maharashtra lockdown likely after April 14, says health minister Rajesh Tope

Thackeray is scheduled to hold another meeting with the finance and other departments on Monday and he will also discuss the lockdown in the cabinet meeting later this week.

Maharashtra may impose a complete lockdown from April 14 across the state, health minister Rajesh Tope said on Sunday after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with senior officials to discuss the guidelines for the restrictions. Majority of the health experts, who attended the state Covid-19 task force meeting, were of the view that the state needs to impose lockdown for at least 14 days.

The Maharashtra government has already announced a slew of restrictions, including a weekend lockdown, night curfew and prohibitory orders for the day time across the state amid rising Covid-19 cases. (AFP Photo)

“The duration of the lockdown and how to handle its economic fallout was discussed during today's meeting. The task force is of the view that the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state is such that a lockdown is required," Rajesh Tope said according to news agency PTI. Tope also said that setting up of an oxygen generation plant in the state was also discussed during the task force meeting.

"CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray in a meeting with the State Task Force discussed the availability of oxygen & beds, use of Remdesivir, treatment protocols, increase in capacity of facilities, imposition of restrictions & fines for violating COVID protocols,” the chief minister's office (CMO) said in a tweet.

Maharashtra’s medical education minister Amit Deshmukh, state’s chief secretary Sitaram Kunte and others also took part in the meeting. Thackeray is scheduled to hold another meeting with the finance and other departments on Monday and he will also discuss the lockdown in the cabinet meeting scheduled later this week.

On Saturday, Uddhav Thackeray indicated that a strict lockdown will be clamped in Maharashtra amid the alarming rise in Covid-19 cases during an all-party meeting to discuss the pandemic situation in the state. The government has already announced a slew of restrictions, including a weekend lockdown, night curfew and prohibitory orders for the day time across the state. These restrictions will continue till April 30.

Before Tope, minister Aslam Sheikh said all stakeholders agree there is a need to impose a lockdown in the state. “In today's meeting with the state Covid-19 task force, everyone was of the view to impose lockdown in the state. SOPs and guidelines for it will be discussed,” Aslam Sheikh was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

On Sunday, Maharashtra reported 63,294 new Covid-19 cases, in the highest spike since the pandemic began last year, taking the tally to 3,407,245. The state’s death toll has gone up by 349 to 57,987. Maharashtra is among the five states which cumulatively account for 70.82 per cent of India's active Covid-19 cases, which breached the 1.1 million mark for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare on Sunday. The health ministry said that Maharashtra alone accounts for 48.57 per cent of the country’s total active caseload.