Mumbai may see tighter curbs as Uddhav Thackeray says lockdown to stay

Mumbai: Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, while addressing the state on Sunday, categorically ruled out the lifting of the lockdown after June 30. Government officials said cities like Mumbai may further need to tighten lockdown measures, given the spike in Covid cases. On Sunday, the Mumbai Police said people can leave their homes only to buy essential services, visit the market, barber shops and salons –– all of which should be within 2 km-radius from the person’s residence.

People would be allowed to travel beyond 2 km only to attend office and medical emergencies. The Mumbai police have said that they would impound vehicles of people who flout this rule. More restrictions are likely in store at least for parts of central and Western suburbs, government officials have said. They said Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh and the chief minister will meet on Monday to discuss measures on how to tackle the rising cases in some of Mumbai’s hot spots.

Cases have been steadily rising in Central suburbs like Mulund, Bhandup and Western suburbs like Borivali, Kandivali and Dahisar. On Saturday, Mumbai recorded a huge spike with cases crossing the 2,000-per-day mark. On Sunday, while addressing the state, Uddhav echoed the government’s concern saying, “We cannot leave this war halfway in this last phase. The crisis is not over yet. I am sure that you will continue to co-operate with the government to ensure that the lockdown is not re imposed.” “The state had lifted restrictions to give a fillip to the economy and asked people not to step out unless it was necessary. We are stuck at the crossroads, we are lifting restrictions slowly because we have to give the economy a start, this does not mean that people should come out needlessly,” he said.