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As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Saturday, 17 April, said that they are thinking of putting Kumbh returnees under quarantine on their return.
The Kumbh Mela (fair) is currently being held in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar where thousands of pilgrims have been gathering along the banks of the Ganga. This has been a cause for concern as India witnesses a second wave of COVID-19 and several states are reporting an alarming surge in the number of COVID-19 infections.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also said that the ongoing Kumbh Mela should now only ‘be symbolic’ as the country continues to grapple with an unprecedented health crisis.
While speaking to news agency ANI, she also called for a complete “lockdown” in Mumbai.
Her comment comes in the backdrop of the rising cases in the country. Maharashtra is one of the worst-affected states, it recorded over 63,000 infections in a single day in the last 24 hours. Mumbai alone recorded 8,839 new cases in the last 24 hours.
A few days ago, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stopped short of announcing a lockdown in the state but he announced a slew of restrictions including a ban on gatherings to curb the spread of the virus.
Thackeray announced that Section 144 of the CrPC will be imposed in the state for 15 days, in a bid to tackle COVID-19 infections that he said were “exploding dangerously” in the state. These restrictions are in place till 1 May.
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