'Don't force me': Uddhav's strong 'lockdown' warning amid rising COVID cases
Amid a spike in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday warned people to not "force" him to impose a statewide lockdown.
After holding a meeting with representatives of hotels, restaurants, mall associations, Uddhav said he did not want to shut down everything, and appealed to everyone to follow the necessary rules.
In a stern warning, Uddhav said this was the "last hint" and that he should not be "forced" to impose a lockdown and stricter restrictions.
"We do not want to shut down everything by a lockdown, but it is essential to follow rules like wearing masks and maintaining social distance. We should not be forced to impose strict restrictions," he said.
Maharashtra recorded this year's highest one-day spike on the third day in a row on Friday with 15,817 new infections coming to light. The caseload in the state rose to 22,82,191, while the death toll reached 52,723 with 56 new fatalities.
The state had earlier reported more than 15,000 cases on October 2 last year, after which new cases had declined. But a fresh surge in cases began last month and the state recorded 13,659 and 14,317 cases on Wednesday and Thursday.
As many as 11,344 patients were discharged from hospitals on Friday, taking the total of recoveries to 21,17,744. There are 1,10,485 active cases.
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