COVID-19: Strict Lockdown to be Enforced in Parts of Maharashtra, Says CM

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said strict lockdown measures will be enforced in some parts of the state to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Thackeray, 60, was speaking after receiving the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 at the  government-run J J Hospital here.

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 13,659 new coronavirus cases, the highest one-day spike this year, which took the state's caseload to 22,52,057.

The state has so far reported 52,610 deaths due to the disease, as per official data.

"Some areas of Maharashtra will witness strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection. The government is going to hold a special meeting with officials before coming out with the lockdown measures," Thackeray said.

He said the government has been requesting people to wear masks, maintain physical distance and avoid moving out unnecessarily.

Earlier in the day, minister Nitin Raut announced a "strict lockdown" in the Nagpur Police  commissionerate limits from March 15 to 21. Raut is the guardian minister of Nagpur.

Last month, lockdown was enforced in Amravati, while certain restrictions were imposed in some other districts of the Amravati division.

State Director of Medical Education and Research, Dr T P Lahane, when asked about more COVID-19 cases being found in apartments and multi-storey buildings than in slums in Mumbai, said though the number of cases is going up, it has still not reached an alarming level.

"If people still continue to take advantage of the relaxation in curbs, then the state will have to revert to strict lockdown measures, including restrictions on movement," he said, and appealed to people to follow all precautions.

Delhi: Record high new cases in over 2 months

Delhi recorded 409 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest single-day rise in nearly two months, while the positivity rate rose to 0.59% according to health department data.

The city's infection tally stands at 6,42,439, the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department stated.

The death toll rose to 10,934 with three more fatalities, it said.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the city rose to 2,020 from 1,900 on Wednesday, while the positivity rate climbed to 0.59 from 0.52% the previous day.

The total number of tests conducted on Wednesday stood at 69,810, including 42,187 RT-PCR tests and 25,623 rapid antigen tests, the bulletin said.

The number of people under home isolation climbed to 1,028 from 982 on Wednesday, it said, adding that over 6.29 lakh people have recovered from the infection till date.