Covid-19: Maharashtra may have to extend lockdown by few weeks, says minister

As of the last update of April 3, a total of 10873 persons were tested in government and private labs in Maharashtra, approximately 97% of which tested negative, and 3% tested positive for Covid-19.

Maharashtra reported 67 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 490, and the total deaths reported in the state touched 26,

As the air quality gets better and the pollution level decreases due to the lockdown, the international airport which is usually covered in haze is now clearly visible from Tilak nagar, Mumbai. (Aalok Soni/Hindustan Times)

Maharashtra health Minister Rajesh Tope said “43 of these new cases are from Mumbai, 10 from Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), 9 from Pune, 6 from Ahmednagar, and 1 each from Ratnagiri and Washim.” He also said Maharashtra is likely to extend the lockdown beyond April 14, especially in Mumbai and other urban areas by two more weeks.

Maharashtra traced seven persons – two each in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Ahmednagar and one in Hingoli district – who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event have tested positive. The state government could contact 1033 people of the 1,225 who went to New Delhi and has put 738 in government quarantine facilities, a state official said.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged everyone to switch off their lights, and light candles, oil lamps, or flash torch or mobile lights for 9 minutes at 9pm on Sunda, Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut released a video appealing to citizens not to switch their lights off, and light candles or oil lamps with a tube light on. He said sudden decrease in demand could lead to a grid failure, owing to high frequency at power stations. It would then take between 12 and 16 hours to restore power supply.

As of the last update of April 3, a total of 10873 persons were tested in government and private labs in Maharashtra, approximately 97% of which tested negative, and 3% tested positive for Covid-19.

Maharashtra has 2455 flying squads to screen persons living in containment zones, and has screened 9,25,828 persons, as of April 3. Of these 292 flying squads are active in Mumbai, 140 in Thane district, 161 in Navi Mumbai, 413 in Pune, 38 in Pimpri Chinchwad, 210 in Nagpur, among others.