‘Second wave knocking on our door’: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on fresh Covid-19 surge in state

Addressing the state virtually, Thackeray said that cases were increasing and it would be ascertained in two weeks whether there is a second wave of Covid-19 or not.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Sunday that the war against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic is similar to World War and added that the mask acts as an effective shield against the infection. Addressing the state virtually, Thackeray said that cases were increasing and it would be ascertained in two weeks whether there is a second wave of Covid-19 or not.

“We want to keep everything open, but the cases are on the rise. There is a sudden spike in cases over the last two weeks,” said Thackeray. (HT file photo)

“We want to keep everything open, but the cases are on the rise. There is a sudden spike in cases over the last two weeks,” said Thackeray.

Speaking about the decision of the state government to impose lockdown in some districts of Maharashtra to curb the spread of Covid-19, the chief minister said that nobody likes to be placed under lockdown but some restrictions would have to be followed.

The chief minister said that lockdown is known to break the chain of transmission of the virus but pointed out that it would be very difficult to implement it again. “If we do not follow the norms, we will have to impose the strictest lockdown,” Thackeray said during the virtual address adding that a decision in this regard would be taken in the next eight days after reviewing the overall situation.

Lockdown has already been imposed in districts such as Amravati and Yavatmal which have been among the major contributors in the state’s recent Covid-19 surge. Amravati, which saw 806 cases on Saturday, has been placed under one-week lockdown starting Monday while a 10-day lockdown had earlier been imposed in Yavatmal on February 18.

During the virtual address, Thackeray further announced that all religious, social and cultural programs will be banned in Maharashtra for the next few days starting Monday. The state government has also started taking strict action against wedding and banquet halls in Mumbai and other areas for violating virus related restrictions, Thackeray said.

Maharashtra on Sunday had recorded 6,971 coronavirus (Covid-19) disease cases and 35 more deaths which pushed the overall tally to over 2.1 million. This is the third consecutive day that cases have remained above the 6,000-mark. The state had started witnessing an upward trend in its daily tally since February 10 when 3,451 cases were registered. Prior to this day, the daily numbers in Maharashtra were at a consistent range of 2,000-3,000.