Mumbai, Pune set for lockdown till May 15

The Maharashtra government is likely to extend the second phase of the lockdown until May 15 in coronavirus hotspots Mumbai and Pune, officials indicated.

On Saturday, Maharashtra recorded the biggest single-day spike in confirmed cases reported – 811 – taking the state total to 7,682. Of this, 5,049 cases have been reported from Mumbai – the highest in the country for a city – and 1,030 from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

"Since there is a rise in number of cases in Mumbai and Pune, the state government is likely to extend the lockdown in these places till May 15," an official said.

Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope told The Sunday Express that the extension of lockdown in hotspots such as Mumbai and Pune is under consideration. The decision will be taken after discussing all aspects, he added.

Sources said the government is in favour of allowing most activities in rural areas, especially in green and orange zones, to resume from May 4. Sources said while the lockdown was an important measure to flatten the curve, it is as important to allow economic activities to resume in areas that are not as badly affected as Mumbai and Pune.

Data from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) shows 104 coronavirus deaths out of 179 recorded by the civic body until Friday evening are from Mumbai's slums and chawls. That is 58 per cent of the total deaths in the megapolis so far.

(Inputs from theindianexpress.com)