BREAKING:Lockdown in Mumbai, Pune region may extend till June

Maharashtra government officials said with the number of cases in the city and neighbouring areas increasing, parts of the state would continue to remain under lockdown at least till June.

Mumbai: Mumbai and Pune Metropolitan region may continue to be under lockdown well beyond May 3. Maharashtra government officials said with the number of cases in the city and neighbouring areas increasing, parts of the state would continue to remain under lockdown at least till June. “As of now, there is no question of lifting the lockdown in Mumbai and Pune MMR region. In fact, with the rising numbers, there may be a need to tighten restrictions,” said a state government official. In that case, restrictions on local trains, buses, shops and establishments may continue to remain till at least June.

Lockdown

The rising cases in Mumbai and Pune MMR region are a cause of worry for the Maharashtra government that is looking for an economic revival in the state. With Mumbai and Pune forming the backbone of the state’s economy, it remains to be seen how the state government would chalk out an economic revival plan.

Till Friday, Mumbai recorded 4,589 cases and on an average is adding close to over 200 cases per day. The Pune Metropolitan region that comprises Pimpri-Chinchwad region is also seeing a steady influx of cases. On Thursday, for instance, 104 new positive cases were detected. The Pune administration has already enforced the lockdown more severely and the whole city has been turned into a containment zone. People are allowed to only step out for two hours daily to buy groceries. The central team advised the Pune administration to prepare for quarantine provisions till the end of May.

Meanwhile, Mumbai created 983 containment zones. More than half of these containment zones are in slums which are congested. Other areas in the state are also witnessing an increase in the number of cases. For instance in Nashik’s Malegaon, there are more than 100 cases till date. In Nagpur, the number of cases has also reached 100.