Mumbai guardian minister hints at partial lockdown soon

As fresh cases in the city hit a 131-day high of 1,361, the guardian minister for the island city, Aslam Shaikh, told TOI on Sunday that a partial lockdown could be imposed if the viral spread was not brought under control in eight to ten days. Covid-19 cases in the state spiked beyond 11,000 on Sunday, hitting a 142-day high of 11,141.

The public health department gave a presentation before the cabinet chaired by CM Uddhav Thackeray, who expressed concern over the increasing number of cases in many districts, with the active caseloads of some as high as the peak period of September. Sources said the possibility of a partial lockdown was discussed.

State may hit 2 lakh active cases by April at current growth rate

Active cases in Maharashtra inched close to a lakh (97,983), and in Mumbai (9,319) threatened to reach 10,000.

There were also concerns that the state may hit 2 lakh active cases by April, if the current growth rate continued. Another Central team will visit the state to analyse why cases continue to rise.

“Local lockdowns, which are limited to a district, are not proving very effective as people are moving from one district to another through public transport. The situation will be monitored for the next two weeks before any decision,” said a source. The state’s weekly positivity rate has breached 11% with 16 districts having a higher positivity rate than the state average. Incidentally, Aurangabad district in Marathwada has the highest weekly positivity rate (24%) followed by Akola (23%) in Vidarbha. The rate in Mumbai’s suburbs is 7.6% as per data presented to the cabinet.

The state’s Covid tally is now 22,19,727. Deaths saw a marginal decline, with 38 reported on Sunday, taking the toll to 52,478. Mumbai’s tally is now 3,33,569. The last time Mumbai reported more than 1,361 cases was on October 24 (case count 1,470). Similarly, for the state, the last time more than 11,141 cases were reported was on October 16 (case count 11,447). Mumbai’s case growth rate has now jumped to 0.3%, while doubling time has dropped to 231 days.

“The government is trying to control cases by implementing measures like levying fines for not wearing mask, and crowding at marriage halls and pubs. We have to take more steps to curb spread. Institutional quarantine could be one, increasing testing and speeding up vaccination programmes on a mass level could be other options, and finally a partial lockdown if cases continue to increase,” said Shaikh.

“Due to small houses, home isolation of patients does not serve the real purpose and results in other family members getting infected. It would be better to isolate patients again at institutional quarantine centres. Maharashtra has the highest active cases in the country once again.”

Measures taken in countries such as Brazil, Europe and the UK were discussed in the cabinet meeting.