Up To Local Authorities To Decide On Night Curfew In Mumbai: Minister – NDTV

Mumbai:

The possibility of night curfews or stricter restrictions in Mumbai and several other parts of Maharashtra cannot be ruled out if the rise in daily coronavirus figures is not stemmed, a Maharashtra minister indicated, saying that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has left to the local administration to take a call. The move comes as the state – which has the highest number of Covid cases in India – continued to report a surge in new cases.

At 8,744, Maharashtra reported the highest daily new cases in the last 24 hours.

“If the spike in COVID-19 cases continues, there is a possibility of night clubs being closed down first in the city (Mumbai). We cannot rule out the possibility of a night curfew or partial lockdown,” Mumbai Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh told reporters today, adding that people not wearing masks are being penalised in the city.

Mumbai has reported 3,34,583 COVID-19 cases so far and 11,508 deaths due to the disease. The city reported 1,014 cases on Monday.

“We may have to shut places like beaches and the Gateway of India where people gather in the evenings,” he said.

“Apart from Mumbai, there are several districts in Maharashtra where the cases are rising… The Chief Minister had a discussion on this yesterday. All collectors and commissioners have been asked to take a call on their cities and districts whether to impose night curfew, close any establishments or convert buildings with a high number of cases into isolation centres or increase testing in places where an event has taken place. All these thigs have bene left to the local level,” Mr Shaikh said.

Last month, Mr Thackeray had called the coronavirus situation in the state “serious” and warned that lockdown would have to be reimposed if daily Covid cases continue to rise. Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar too had issued a similar warning for Mumbai.

Mumbai’s Dharavi, which is Asia’s largest slum cluster, on Monday saw the highest daily figure since October and a steep rise from the mostly single digit cases it was logging over the past few days. On December 25, the area had reported zero positive cases for the first time since the pandemic set in.