As panic soars, Maharashtra govt urges people to help 'avoid' Lockdown 2.0

As panic started building up among people with several districts cities and towns of Maharashtra coming under degrees of restrictions the Maha Vikas Aghadi government on Monday appealed to the citizens to take precautions and help avoid a fresh lockdownA day after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray served an ultimatum of 810 days to the people Health Minister Rajesh Tope urged people to understand and cooperate with the government since the state could not afford another lockdownOur state is known for its sensitive understanding and cooperative people We have seen how they cooperated patiently during the 2020 lockdown Avoiding a lockdown is now in your hands Another lockdown will be unaffordable Therefore it is my appeal to strictly follow masking sanitising and safe physical distancing to avoid lockdown said Tope in a social media appeal from quarantineThe state seems headed on the course for another round of severe restrictions with stringent curbs slapped in Nagpur Pune Nashik Amravati Akola Yavatmal Aurangabad Satara and others amid apprehensions of a second lockdownIn many districts schoolscolleges have been shut again for offline classes and the government is deliberating to evolve a consensus on conducting the SSC and HSC Board exams offline in AprilMay After Thackerays stern Sunday message political rallies large social gatherings religious congregations etc are being cancelled or postponed or truncatedThe police in Mumbai Pune Nagpur and other places swooped on the organisers of such events or restaurants bars etc where people were seen not adhering to Covid19 protocolsIronically even exBJP MP Dhananjay Mahadik sons wedding in Pune on Sunday saw a 700plus crowd including bigwigs like Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and others after which Food amp Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal reported on Monday that he had tested positiveThe BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has found that asymptomatic patients and highrisk contacts who step out of quarantine are contributing to the current massive spread of Covid19 with cases multiplying in the city and in Mumbai Metropolitan RegionBMC Commissioner IS Chahal pointed out that in past two days there were around 1500 cases all asymptomatic and if these started roaming the streets in less than a fortnight the figures could shoot up by 10 timesBesides the government attributes the spurt in cases to the resumption of local trains from February 1 for most categories of people and permitting several religious and social functions with many blatantly ignoring the Covid19 normsChahal has warned that asymptomatic patients would be stamped on their hands and urged to remain in home quarantine but if they fail to comply they would be booked by the police or shifted to institutional quarantineIn another key development the Mumbai Police has now been empowered to take action and book or fine people moving around without face masks or not following protocolsThe Mumbai Police is now authorised to issue challans to offenders not wearing a face mask too Every time we fined you for not wearing a helmet or seatbelt it was always to remind you the value of your life and safety Same is for masks Please take care You matter to us said Police Commissioner Param Bir SinghThe police chiefs stern message came after an uproar over Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi getting penalised for his latenight motorcycle sojourn and interacting with people without wearing masks and subsequently tendering an apologyThackeray has reiterated that wearing masks is mandatory both before and even after getting vaccinated failing which the invisible enemy will attackThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever