On Sunday, Environment and Tourism Minister in Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's Cabinet, Aaditya Thackeray, quashed the reports which claimed that Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium will used as a COVID-19 quarantine centre.
In a reply to Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, Thackeray said that due to the approaching monsoons, the grounds won't be usable as they have a have a mud base. Taking to Twitter, he said, "Sanjay ji, we can’t take the grounds of the stadiums or playgrounds because they have a mud base and they won’t be usable during monsoons. An open space with a solid/ concrete base is usable and it’s being done already."
Raut had earlier suggested to use the city's Brabourne Stadium as a COVID-19 quarantine centre as there were reports of using Wankhede Stadium for the same purpose.
An Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) source had told ANI that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had directed them to hand over some premises of the Wankhede Stadium in Churchgate to create facilities in connection with the novel coronavirus outbreak.
"We have received a formal request from the BMC to hand over the Wankhede as quarantine facility and the members have had a discussion where we have agreed to support them with facilities of MCA," sources within the MCA had said.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, since the first death, the figure of fatalities has touched 696 -- or an average of around 11 deaths per day. In terms of the spread, the state has shot up from only 2 cases on March 9 to 30,706 today -- a staggering average of 438 cases per day in the past 70 days.
The COVID-19 cases in Mumbai are 18,555 and the death toll was 696.
(With inputs from Agencies)
