A seven-day long lockdown has been imposed in Nagpur from March 15 to March 21. The fear of coronavirus COVID-19 can be seen to creep in yet again. Especially in parts of Maharashtra. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation issued a statement, more like a warning that lockdown may be imposed in Mumbai by the authorities if the virus continues to spread exponentially.
Mumbai recorded over 1,500 coronavirus cases in 24 hours. “As of now, it is not on our plan. But certainly, if the cases go up like this, and if we are not getting equal support from citizens, then we can keep that option open after a detailed review. That decision will be taken at an appropriate time,” Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani told CNN-News18.
It was also announced by the BMC that they will be shifting their focus from slums to buildings and high rises as a change in their strategy for controlling the Covid-19 cases. According to reports, 90% of Mumbai cases were recorded from buildings and high rises in the previous 2-3 months, the rest 10% however, were reported from the slums.
“Most of the cases are coming from buildings, 90% or more so now. We have shifted our focus from densely populated areas, slums, to buildings. So whoever is enjoying the facility of home quarantine, whether they are following the proper protocol and whether they are following Covid-19 appropriate behaviour — we are trying to ensure that. We have roped in the office bearers of housing societies. They can report violations if such cases are reported. We will move them to institutional quarantine, and in some cases, we have also lodged police cases. That option is also open. So stringent measures will definitely help us control the rising cases,” Kakani said.
The opposition has raised concerns about places like pubs, discs, and clubs being overcrowded. The regulation of the nightlife of Mumbai was questioned. “We have targeted pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, cinema theatres, shopping malls. All places where footfall is more, if we come across persons not following Covid appropriate behaviour, we will penalize them, punish them and in exceptional cases, also lodge police cases against the defaulters,” he said.
“Close to 30 lakh people is our target population. we are targeting 45 plus age groups with comorbidities, 60 years and more, and some of the frontline healthcare workers,” he added.
