CM Uddhav Thackeray does not rule out imposing lockdown if cases continue to rise

Thackeray takes on his critics who dare to oppose reimposition of lockdown, says hit the streets to save lives

@the_news_21

Mumbai: Pointing towards the alarming rise in positive Covid-19 cases all over Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday stated that he could not rule out re-imposition of the lockdown if the current Covid situation continues to prevail and people continue to remain complacent. In his address to the people of the state on various social media platforms, he took on his critics who warned of taking to the streets if the lockdown was reimposed asking them to hit the streets to save lives and stop the spread of Coronavirus.

Urging the opposition political parties, his critics and detractors alike who had warned of taking to the streets if the government thought of reimposing the lockdown, the Chief Minister urged the opposition of not playing politics with the lives of the people. Without naming an industrialist and an opposition party and a former chief minister who demanded Rs 5,000 be deposited first in the bank accounts of the daily wage workers, Thackeray urged them to hit the road not to oppose the lockdown but to contain the spread of Coronavirus.

He said that the government is scaling up the availability of beds and infrastructure, but after the first wave many health workers like doctors, nurses, revenue staff have contracted Covid-19. The government needs trained manpower to operate ventilators, oxygen beds and treat patients.

Quoting worldwide situation in countries like Brazil where the pandemic has not only taken lives but has left people jobless, Thackeray said that he has been consulting the experts and if the spike in cases continues the government shouldn’t be compelled to take harsh decisions like imposing lockdown.

The Chief Minister bemoaned the fact that some people have become complacent after the first wave had ebbed and stopped following appropriate Covid behaviour and stopped wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands. Thackeray said that there was nothing courageous about not wearing any masks and neither was it any matter of feeling embarrassed about wearing a mask in public.

Thackeray stated that he concurred with the Centres view of placing more emphasis on conducting RT-PCR tests which are more accurate. He said that in coming days the government intends to conduct 2.5 lakh RT-PCR tests daily and increase the bed availability to 3.75 lakh beds in coming days. He further disclosed that as of today more than 3 lakh people have been vaccinated in a single day. So far, the state has vaccinated 65 lakh people. Thackeray added that if the Centre allocates more vaccine doses to the state, the government intends to scale up the vaccination drive to six lakh inoculations per day.