Mumbai Mayor warns of lockdown if Covid-19 daily count crosses 20K

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday warned of imposing a lockdown if the state capital's daily Covid-19 case count breaches the 20,000-mark.
She also warned that localised lockdown could be imposed if people continue to throng public places like beaches, grounds, gardens, parks, etc, where entry restrictions have been imposed between 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. since last week.

The Mayor's statement came a day after the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ordered closure of schools from Classes 1 to 9 and 11 till January 31 amid a massive spike in cases in the city.

Simultaneously, from Monday, the state government launched the vaccination drive for teens aged 15-18 with massive response from the youngsters.

The BMC has implemented fresh guidelines for the city which includes sealing of buildings if more than 20 per cent of the occupied flats have Covid-19 patients and ordered all infectees to strictly adhere to protocols while in home quarantine.

Mumbai cases have been jumping daily in thousands in the past two weeks, including the highest Omicron cases in the state, sounding alarm bells among health authorities.

The Omicron tally in the country's commercial capital has touched 368 out of the state's 578 infectees, and accounts for 32,274 active cases of the state's 52,422 currently under treatment.


The cumulative tally is 67,12,028 cases and 141,533 fatalities - both highest in the country - since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020.

Four days ago, on New Year Day, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Dr Pradeep Vyas warned officials not to take the third wave lightly as it could see more than 80-lakh cases with 80,000 deaths. -IANS