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Maharashtra weekend restrictions begin today; Rajesh Tope, Vijay Wadettiwar want longer lockdown
Health minister Rajesh Tope, relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday said the present situation of the state needs a longer and stricter lockdown as Maharashtra enters into a weekend lockdown on Saturday.
As Maharashtra enters the first weekend lockdown of this year on Saturday, amid protests by traders and opposition by a few political parties, state ministers think the present situation of the state needs longer and stricter lockdown. Both health minister Rajesh Tope and relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday said more restrictions are needed in the state, though they personally may not favour a lockdown.
To lock down or not has remained a contentious issue in Maharashtra since February when the state started seeing a spike in the number of daily cases. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said he personally does not favour lockdown as economy suffers, but after a series of consultation with experts and several stakeholders, the government imposed night curfew and weekend lockdown across the state, apart from closing all sea-beaches, shops dealing with non-essential products and services.
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Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday said a three-week long lockdown is required in the state to bring the coronavirus cases under control, news agency PTI reported. "We need to bring curbs on the movement of railways and stop crowding in public places to prevent the community spread and save people's lives," Wadettiwar said.
On the same lines, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Friday said a "complete lockdown" of two to three weeks is required in the state to improve the health infrastructure, PTI reported.
"We would need a complete lockdown for 15 days to three weeks even though I am not in favour of that immediately. If hospitals are overwhelmed, if there is a shortage of medicines and if the government is unable to cope with the growing number of patients then such a step can be taken," Tope said.
Maharashtra has been hit hard in the second wave of the pandemic, more than the first wave in last year. The state is seeing a steady rise in the number of daily infections and is now recording over 55,000 new infections daily. On Friday, the state reported 58,993 new infections.
(With agency inputs)
