'Covid lockdown was essential': CM Uddhav hints extension for Maharashtra with relaxations

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday in his video conference said that the lockdown will be extended but with more relaxations in place, without stating the duration of the extension. The Chief Minister said that the lockdown was essential to break the chain of the virus and despite the uptrend in the number of cases, the state has been successful in breaking the chain.

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The Chief Minister said, "Even now, many must be thinking that today is May 1, the day is half gone, the lockdown is till May 3, What is the plan after 3rd? What was the benefit of lockdown, when the cases have been increasing by the day?," the Chief Minister said to resonate with questions people might have in their minds regarding the lockdown and the entire COVID-19 situation in the state.

"But when you think about it, lockdown doesn't mean a lockout. I would say it is a 'speed breaker'. Singapore's Prime Minister has called it 'circuit breaker', means breaking the chain of the virus. Certainly, the lockdown or circuit breaker has been instrumental in breaking the chain of the virus. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to imagine how fast the virus could have spread. Undoubtedly, we have kept this multiplication in control," he added.

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The Maharashtra government has now started door to door testing especially in slum areas where the proximity among people is less and social distancing measures are not followed due to more density of population in the area. 

"We are going to slums and using Pulse Oximeter we are examining people. We have checked about 2 lakh people. This testing helps us to know if the person has diabetes or other ailments. We separate such people who could be more prone to the infection. We have found such cases and the BMC is treating them for their ailments too," said Thackeray.     

Maharashtra is witnessing a surge in the number of cases despite the extended lockdown nearing its culmination. The state has recorded 583 new cases in a day on April 30 taking the total count of infected cases to 10,498, of which 1773 have been cured while 459 have died due to the virus, according to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India's Covid lockdown ends on May 3.