Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned those flouting norms and putting others’ lives at risk to avoid becoming ‘Corona agents’. This comes as the third wave of the pandemic has spread across the state.
Thackeray said that in the ongoing wave, “the rate of infection is very high”, and it is crucial to deal with it on a priority basis without discussing whether it is dangerous or not, as otherwise it could lead to a strain on the state’s health infrastructure.
According to him, it is for this reason that the state government has imposed some more restrictions after discussions with COVID-19 Task Force and the Center, as well as getting the views of those in the medical field.
“We don’t want to shut everything down with another lockdown. Laws and restrictions alone cannot help tackle such challenges. Each citizen, no matter their status in society, must follow the health department rules strictly to ensure that we can deal a fatal final blow to the Coronavirus,” news agency IANS quoted the Maharashtra CM as saying.
Instead of trying to stop life and livelihood, the Chief Minister said, it is imperative to get rid of the virus through restrictions such as ‘Break the Chain’ and ‘Mission Begin Again’.
While praising the majority of people who follow instructions diligently, he criticised those few irresponsible individuals who flout them.
“This won’t be tolerated anymore. The rules must be scrupulously followed. For the violators, all agencies have been ordered to take strict action. Remember, its for your own good so we all can come out of this as early as possible,” said Thackeray.
He noted that the healthcare system is already under strain, and if the number of unvaccinated or symptomatic patients increases, then oxygen demands will also rise since they will need hospitalisation.
Thackeray noted that doctors, nurses, and other frontline medical workers are also increasingly infected at many places and that “this is a warning for all”.
“We have augmented all the medical facilities in the past two years, but if doctors also get ill, from where shall we get the manpower?” he asked, as hundreds of doctors, paramedics, police officers, and others have tested COVID-19 positive in the state.
Colleges and schools have once again shifted to the online mode to ensure that education remains uninterrupted and the Chief Minister asked young people not to waste time loitering around unnecessarily due to the mistaken perception that it is holiday time.
In addition, he urged all unvaccinated people to get jabbed immediately and warned that the state government would tighten restrictions in areas where inoculation rates are low.
Maharashtra has started enforcing a night curfew around 11 pm-5 am starting Monday, besides banning groups of five or more people from gathering during the day, and extending the school and college closures until February 15, barring students attempting board exams.
From 5 pm to 5 am, the government has reduced crowd limits at restaurants, cinemas, malls, gyms, salons, beauty parlors, public gatherings, events, weddings, funerals, closed swimming pools and curtailed visits to beaches, gardens, parks, and playgrounds.
