Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray Asks Chief Secretary To Prepare Plan For Lockdown Amid Surge In Covid-19 Cases

With Maharashtra reporting the highest daily new cases at 40,414, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked chief secretary Sitaram Kunte to immediately draw up a strategy for a lockdown.

While 68,020 new cases were registered throughout the country in the last 24 hours, Maharashtra alone accounted for 62.7 per cent of it.

“The government was trying hard to keep the economy afloat amid the pandemic. However, several factors are not being considered seriously,” Thackeray said at a meeting on Sunday (28 March), reports The Times Of India.

“Ultimately, people’s health is our top priority. Hence, the chief secretary should plan a lockdown strategy to ensure that the supply of essential commodities, including food grain and medicines, and health services are not hampered. This is what we have to do if people are not following the (Covid) norms,” he said.

“Lockdown is the last resort, but we have to consider it because the healthcare infrastructure is crumbling. There are no beds available in the private sector and public-sector beds, too, are filling fast,” task force member Dr Shashank Joshi said.

On Monday (29 March), India’s total Active Caseload reached 5,21,808. On the other hand, the total vaccination coverage in India has crossed six crores.