Covid-19: Maharashtra may extend lockdown till May-end

The lockdown will be as strict as it is currently, while in some districts where the cases are on the rise, the local administrations are expected to impose stricter curbs. The decision is expected to be taken in the state cabinet on Wednesday

Maharashtra is likely to extend the Covid-19 lockdown till May-end even as it reported the lowest single-day spike in infections in 41 days. With 37,236 infections (27,918 cases were reported on March 30), the state’s tally went up to 5,138,973, while the toll rose to 76,398 with 549 more deaths.

Citizens wait to be vaccinated at a centre amid shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, in Thane on May 6. (File photo)

The dip in cases on Monday came amid a drop in the number of tests to 192,330 in 24 hours, below the daily average of over 2,50,000 tests over the past few weeks. The test positivity rate on Monday stood at 19.36%, against the weekly rate of 20.82%. Mumbai, too, reported its lowest one-day spike in 56 days (1,782 cases), after reporting 1,713 infections on March 15.

The state government is all set to extend its current lockdown by another two weeks after it ends at 7am on May 15. The lockdown will be as strict as it is currently, while in some districts where the cases are on the rise, the local administrations are expected to impose stricter curbs. The decision is expected to be taken in the state cabinet on Wednesday. Cases are on the rise in 21 districts and dropping in 15, including Mumbai and Thane.

The slowed-down vaccination drive is another reason for the extension of the lockdown.

“Though the daily caseload has stabilised over the past few weeks, it is still at the average of over 55,000, which is much higher than the peak of the first wave, when the highest daily peak was 24,886 cases on September 11 last year. We will still have to follow stricter curbs to bring the cases down. The strain on the health infrastructure has been reduced significantly with more than 25% of beds in the state vacant. In some districts, the percentage is 40. But some districts like Kolhapur, Sangli are witnessing a rise in the number of cases. More than half the districts are still logging a rise in daily cases. In such a scenario, the lockdown will continue in its current form at least for two more weeks,” said an official.