Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday urged people to celebrate Diwali safely at home and avoid social gatherings.
While cautioning people that acting irresponsibly during the festivals may lead to a second wave of infections, Thackeray said he too won’t be meeting anyone personally to extend or accept greetings.
"I will accept Diwali greetings only through emails and social media. We need to keep ourselves safe and protect the health of our near and dear ones," Thackeray said in a statement.
"We have to resume schools and colleges after Diwali. We have to follow the protocol of wearing masks, washing hands and physical distancing," he said, urging people to consider the health of senior citizens.
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Uddhav Thackeray also said that “till such time that a vaccine is ready and available, safeguarding oneself, family members and others should be everyone’s priority”.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 4,907 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking total count of infections to 17,31,833, the state health department said.
With 125 more patients succumbing to the viral infection, the death toll mounted to 45,560, it said. A total of 9,164 patients were discharged during the day, taking the tally of recoveries to 15,97,255. The state now has 88,070 active cases.
