Amidst the rising COVID-19 cases in Navi Mumbai, instances of violation of COVID-19 precautionary guidelines in the Navi Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market has come to light.
As per the report published by The Print, several people in the APMC market were spotted without masks and even defying social distancing norms which the government has instructed everyone to follow at all times. The report also claimed that many people in the mandi did not wear the masks and those who did, wore it on the chin.
Now, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), in the wake of rising COVID cases, re-imposed the lockdown for 10 days, starting from Friday. As per the order, the lockdown will be implemented from July 3 to July 13.
The lockdown order has exempted the Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee and Thane Belapur TTC Industrial Area.
The Print report also mentioned about rampant spitting and dragging of vegetables through the urinal which raises concerns about hygiene.
Earlier, according to state health department, spitting and smoking in public can land the offender behind bars for up to six months and repeat offenders for up to two years by invoking the provisions of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 and the Indian Penal Code.
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope while addressing the people via Facebook Live said, "Spitting is also contributing to the spread of COVID-19. Considering this, we have decided to implement prohibitory laws more strictly.”
Meanwhile, as per the official update by the corporation, the coronavirus tally of Navi Mumbai reached to 7,088 as 265 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported within the limits NMMC on Thursday.
Moreover, seven more deaths were reported, taking the number of fatalities to 224. 131 patients fully recovered and were discharged from hospitals on Thursday, taking the number of active cases to 2,899.
Notably, 3,965 patients have successfully beaten the virus so far, taking up the recovery rate to 56 percent. Reports of 1,451 patients are pending as of now.
