Covid cases soar in Maharashtra, CM Uddhav Thackeray mulls lockdown in some places

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said that lockdown will be put in some places to tackle the rise in Covid-19 cases in the state. He, however, said that situation has not gone out of control yet.

"In a few days, we may have to lockdown some places. We may have to start from scratch but still the situation has not gone out of control. At some places, stringent lockdown will be imposed, decision soon," he said after getting his first vaccine shot at JJ Hospital in Mumbai.

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"There is no need to have any fear or apprehension about the vaccines. I appeal to whoever is eligible to get vaccinated. We are speeding up vaccination," Thackeray added.

He was given Covaxin, the Covid-19 vaccine made by Bharat Biotech. His wife Rashmi and her mother too got the first dose of the vaccine.

Senior doctors were present when the chief minister was administered the vaccine.

The remarks come a day after Maharashtra, the worst-affected state, recorded 13,659 Covid-19 cases, its first one-day spike in excess of 13,000 in 2021 and highest in 154 days. Before this, the state recorded 14,578 cases on October 8, 2020.

Maharashtra has till date recorded 2,252,057 infections. The state also recorded 54 deaths on Wednesday, taking the toll to 52,619. Mumbai, which has been recording over 1,000 cases for a week now, also recorded 1,539 cases and five deaths, taking the tally to 337,124 and toll to 11,515 deaths.

The district magistrates in few places, which are recording a spike in daily cases, have imposed curbs to check the spread of the infection. On Thursday, complete lockdown was announced in Nagpur from March 15 to March 21. The district administration said that essential services won't be impacted by the order.

The Jalgaon district will witness night curfew from Thursday till Monday (March 15) due to the spike in number of cases.