Mumbai and Pune Metropolitan region may continue to be under lockdown beyond May 3, can be extended till June. Recently, a head constable with Mumbai police, Chandrakant Ganapat Pendurkar, succumbed to coronavirus. The unfortunate development comes on a day when the state recorded the highest single-day increase in the number of coronavirus infections with 811 new cases. However, a dip in mortality rate is giving the administration some hope. Mumbai and Pune Metropolitan region may continue to be under lockdown well beyond May 3. Maharashtra government officials said with the number of cases in the city and neighboring areas increasing, parts of the state would continue to remain under lockdown at least till June.
State government officials told media, “So far, till now there is no question of lifting the lockdown in Mumbai and Pune MMR region. In fact, with the increasing numbers, there may be a need to tighten restrictions,”. In that case, restrictions on local trains, buses, shops and establishments may continue to remain till at least June.
The rising cases in Mumbai and Pune MMR region are a cause of worry for the Maharashtra government that is looking for an economic revival in the state. With Mumbai and Pune forming the backbone of the state’s economy, it remains to be seen how the state government would chalk out an economic revival plan. Mumbai recorded 4,589 coronavirus cases and on an average is adding close to over 200 cases per day. The Pune Metropolitan region that comprises Pimpri Chinchwad region is also seeing a steady influx of cases. On Thursday, for instance, 104 new positive cases were detected. The Pune administration has already enforced the lockdown more severely and the whole city has been turned into a containment zone. People are allowed to only step out for two hours daily to buy groceries. The central team advised the Pune administration to prepare for quarantine provisions till the end of May.
Meanwhile, Mumbai created 983 containment zones. More than half of these containment zones are in slums which are congested. Other areas in the state are also witnessing an increase in the number of cases. For instance, in Nashik’s Malegaon, there are more than 100 cases till date. In Nagpur, the number of cases has also reached 100. Maharashtra as of Saturday has a total of 7,628 Covid-19 cases including over 300 casualties. Nearly two-thirds of these positive cases are in Mumbai, which now has over 5,000 cases after 602 new infections were registered in the city on Saturday. Over 190 people have died in Maharashtra’s capital. As many as 96 policemen including officers are infected with coronavirus in Maharashtra. 15 of these are officers. A total of 6 policemen have recovered so far.
