NEW DELHI: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that lockdown could be an option to control the spread of coronavirus as the state continues to witness a worrying surge in cases.
Thackeray’s statement comes a day after Maharashtra witnessed its highest-ever single-day spike of 25,833 Covid-19 cases on Thursday.
Speaking about the alarming rise in cases, Thackeray said that the Covid-19 situation in the state has become grimmer as the number of new cases on Thursday breached the previous high which was recorded in September last year.
“I see lockdown as an option going ahead. But I trust people of the state to cooperate (and follow the Covid-19 norms voluntarily) like the last time,” he said.
However, the chief minister said that unlike the previous wave, now we have vaccines to fight the virus.
“When the pandemic began last year, there was nothing to fight the virus with. But now at least we have vaccines as a shield,” he said.
Thackeray said the priority now is to ensure that everyone is vaccinated and urged people to come forward to get inoculated without fear.
“There have been a few instances where a person caught infection after vaccination, but such cases are not life- threatening,” the chief minister said.
Fresh curbs in Maharashtra
Meanwhile, the state government has also announced fresh restrictions to curb the rise in infections.
According to the new guidelines, all drama theatres and auditoriums in the state will operate on 50% capacity till March 31 and no entry will be allowed without proper wearing of masks.
Theatres and auditoriums will not be used for cultural and political events, the order said.
All private offices have been asked to function at 50% capacity.
If found violating the norms, the premises will be shut down till the time Covid-19 stays notified as a disaster by the Centre, it said.
Earlier, the government had ordered cinema halls, hotels and restaurants to operate at 50 per cent capacity till March 31.
Thackeray’s statement comes a day after Maharashtra witnessed its highest-ever single-day spike of 25,833 Covid-19 cases on Thursday.
Speaking about the alarming rise in cases, Thackeray said that the Covid-19 situation in the state has become grimmer as the number of new cases on Thursday breached the previous high which was recorded in September last year.
“I see lockdown as an option going ahead. But I trust people of the state to cooperate (and follow the Covid-19 norms voluntarily) like the last time,” he said.
However, the chief minister said that unlike the previous wave, now we have vaccines to fight the virus.
“When the pandemic began last year, there was nothing to fight the virus with. But now at least we have vaccines as a shield,” he said.
Thackeray said the priority now is to ensure that everyone is vaccinated and urged people to come forward to get inoculated without fear.
“There have been a few instances where a person caught infection after vaccination, but such cases are not life- threatening,” the chief minister said.
Fresh curbs in Maharashtra
Meanwhile, the state government has also announced fresh restrictions to curb the rise in infections.
According to the new guidelines, all drama theatres and auditoriums in the state will operate on 50% capacity till March 31 and no entry will be allowed without proper wearing of masks.
Theatres and auditoriums will not be used for cultural and political events, the order said.
All private offices have been asked to function at 50% capacity.
If found violating the norms, the premises will be shut down till the time Covid-19 stays notified as a disaster by the Centre, it said.
Earlier, the government had ordered cinema halls, hotels and restaurants to operate at 50 per cent capacity till March 31.