Next Covid wave to hit ‘like tsunami’, warns Maharashtra CM: Maharashtra Eyes Another Lockdown

Mumbai: The Covid-19 pandemic has been brought under control in Maharashtra thanks to the discipline of citizens, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Sunday.

However, he also warned in the same breath that if people do not continue to follow safety measures, it can trigger a second or third wave “like a tsunami”. “In the past we celebrated all our festivals with caution. Be it Ganeshotsav or Dussehra.

You all are cooperating with me. Even while celebrating Diwali, I requested you to not burst crackers and you followed it. And because of this, the war against Covid is in our control,” he said. “But I am a bit angry with you all. I had already said after Diwali there will be overcrowding. Don’t think Covid is over.

I have seen many people not wearing masks. Don’t be so careless. Be in western countries, Delhi or Ahmedabad. This second and third wave is strong like a tsunami. Ahmedabad has even enforced night curfews,” Thackeray added. On Sunday, Maharashtra reported 5,753 new cases. 50 Covid-19 deaths were reported in the state on Sunday.

The case fatality rate is at 2.62% while the recovery rate is at 92.75%.Out of 1,02,13,026 laboratory samples, 17,80,208 have been tested positive (17.43%) for Covid-19 until today. Currently, 5,15,976 people are in home quarantine and 5,615 people are in institutional quarantine.”Covid is not dying because of overcrowding. In fact it is going to grow.

We don’t know when will the vaccine come out. Even if it comes out in December, then when will it come to Maharashtra? Maharashtra has 12 crore people. And it needs to be given twice. So we will need vaccine for 25 crore people. So please take care of yourself. It will take time,” he said. Thackeray’s address comes after Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Sunday hinted that there may be another Covid-induced lockdown in the coming days.

“There were huge crowds during Diwali period. Even at the time of Ganesha Chaturthi, we saw crowds. We are speaking to relevant departments. We’ll review the situation for next 8-10 days and then a decision will be taken about the lockdown,” Pawar said in Pune.The state government has allowed reopening of schools for classes 9 to 12 from tomorrow depending on the Covid-19 situation in local areas.

Reopening of schools has been postponed in Pimpri Chinchwad till 30 November.Pawar’s statement also comes at a time when speculations are rife about the state considering a possible suspension of train and flight operations to and from Delhi in view of the rising covid-19 cases. “If we don’t have enough beds, our healthcare workers get infected, then nobody can save us.

This is not the case right now but we still have to be very careful. We have still not been able to open schools. We are at a cusp. I don’t want to go to any lockdown again,” the Chief Minister said.