Mumbai district Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh, on Tuesday, warned that strict curbs would have to be imposed in the day as currently applied at night, as people are still not serious about observing COVID-19 protocols. The government is the midst of scheduling the timings of grocery shops and suburban train services, especially during the peak hours in the morning.
The chief minister has repeatedly requested people to not step out of their homes if there is no need. “But no one is listening,” said Shaik. “If such a situation continues, then restrictions currently imposed at night will also be applied during the day,” said Shaikh.
If people do not follow the rules, he added, they are putting their lives in danger. “Planning is underway to set the timings of the grocery stores and trains in the morning. This is because people have been crowding during these hours. If anyone is infected in the crowd, the number of patients is likely to increase in the city,” noted the minister.
Shaikh’s warning comes at a time when the doubling rate in Mumbai has declined to 53 days in the last one week. Almost all the 24 municipal wards had maintained a doubling period of more than 100 days till the middle of March. The positive rate has also surged to 4%.
Amidst the rise in cases, jumbo centres will be made operational in the city. “This has become necessary, as daily more than 5,000 new COVID-19 patients are being detected. If the number of such patients continue to increase in the near future, there will be a shortage of beds. It will put additional burden on the existing health infrastructure. With this in mind, the jumbo treatment centers will be started once again in Mumbai,” said Shaikh.
