Amid an alarming rise in Coronavirus caseload in Maharashtra, deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday warned that if people don’t follow COVID-19 restrictions then the government will be forced to impose a lockdown in the state as stringent as the last year’s. “If people don’t adhere to the currently imposed COVID restrictions then we may have to impose lockdown like last year,” Ajit Pawar said. Also Read – Maharashtra Comes Under Curfew-Like Curbs, Over 2 Lakh Cops Deployed To Enforce Restrictions.
Further, Pawar insisted doctors to use Remdesivir, an injectable drug used for COVID-19 treatment, only in critical cases. “In private hospitals, COVID-19 patients’ relatives insist doctors arrange Remdesivir regardless of infection’s severity. I request doctors to use Remdesivir only in critical cases & needn’t do anything to arrange it. We are working on that,” Maharashtra Deputy CM added.
Further, all MLAs/MLCs have been permitted to use 1 crore from their annual fund for COVID-related work in their constituency/area. “We had allowed them to use Rs 50 lakhs from their annual fund for the same last year,” Pawar added.
COVID cases in Maharashtra
Maharashtra on Friday reported the highest single-day count with 63,729 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally past the 37-lakh mark. Further, 398 more patients succumbed to the infection, a health department official said. With 63,729 COVID new cases, the cumulative count in the state rose to 37,03,584, while the death toll went up to 59,551. The state’s earlier highest one-day case count was 63,294, recorded on April 11, followed by 61,695 on April 15.
Maharashtra’s COVID-19 recovery rate stood at 81.12 per cent, while the fatality rate was 1.61 per cent, the department said.
15-day Curfew in Maharashtra
The Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government had on Tuesday announced over a 15-day-long statewide curfew starting April 14 to arrest the Coronavirus infection spread. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in his address to the state via social media on April 13, had said the curfew, which excludes essential services, will come into effect at 8 pm on April 14 and remain in force till 7 am on May 1. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), dealing with gatherings and assembly of people, will be in force till the “lockdown-like” restrictions are in place, he had added.
