NAGPUR LOCK: Nagpur, which will enter a one week lock from Monday, has always been one of the great foci of the coronavirus pandemic, although it has remained largely overshadowed by Pune and Mumbai. In fact, Nagpur, most of the time, has remained in the top ten worst affected cities in the country.
With more than 1.66 lakh of confirmed infections so far, it currently has the seventh highest number of cases in the country, after Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Thane, and Chennai.
It has also recorded 3,557 deaths so far, which is again the seventh highest death toll for any city in the country.
In the current wave, however, Nagpur, over the past few days, has been reporting more cases than even Mumbai. On Thursday, for example, the district detected 2,150 new infections, while Mumbai had just over 1,500.
Nagpur had started to show signs of resurgence in the first week of February, even before the case count in Pune or Mumbai started to rise. In fact, for a few days in the first week of February, it was Nagpur and the adjoining districts in the Vidarbha region (Amravati, Yavatmal, Akola, Buldhana and Wardha) that contributed most of the cases in Maharashtra.
But Pune has now become the largest contributor of coronavirus cases, not only in Maharashtra but throughout India, a position that is not entirely unknown. Pune also used to contribute the maximum number of cases during the first wave last year.
However, due to the increased concentration of industries and economic activities in the Mumbai-Pune region, these two cities are unlikely to close, as Nagpur has decided to do. Indeed, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal made clear Thursday that there was no immediate threat of a shutdown being imposed on Mumbai in the near future. In Pune, despite the daily cases rising to more than 2,800, a blockade is not contemplated. Some restrictions have been put in place, including those on non-essential travel between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM, but movement and economic activity have not been affected.
In fact, Pune traders had strongly opposed any reintroduction of a blockade, saying they should be compensated monetarily should the government decide to do so.
On Friday, Pune introduced some more restrictions, asking restaurants and bars, movie theaters and markets to close their businesses at 10 p.m. They should only run at 50% capacity at the moment. Schools and universities have been asked to remain closed until the end of the month, and public gardens will be closed at night.
Pune Has Tighter Covid-19 Restrictions, But No Blockade For Now
Even in Nagpur, the blockade would not be as severe as that seen across the country in March and April last year. Several exemptions have been announced, including those for government offices and private industries. All of these could work with 25% staff. Some other institutions, such as banks, that have year-end closing operations to run, can function in full force. In fact, some select areas in the neighboring districts of Amravati, Akola and Buldhana have already experienced this type of lockdown since the last week of February.
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Eight of the ten cities with the highest number of active cases at the moment are Maharashtra, with Pune and Nagpur leading the way. Five of them, Nashik, in addition to Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Nagpur, are also on the list of the top ten cities with the maximum number of cases.
At least part of the reason for the high number of cases reported from Maharashtra is the recent surge in testing. Maharashtra has started testing between 80,000 and 90,000 samples per day now compared to between 50,000 and 60,000 samples in February, and even less before. The increase in evidence is forced by the increasing number of cases. In the short term, it leads to the discovery of even more positive cases, but after a while, it becomes an effective containment strategy. As more and more people test positive and are put into isolation, they will have less chance of transmitting the infection to others.
Authorities in several cities have also pointed out that people who have been advised home quarantine have not always been effectively isolated, and they or their family members have been found to violate quarantine rules. In Mumbai, Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said that behavior going forward would invite a police case or mandatory institutional quarantine. A similar warning has also been issued in Pimpri Chinchwad. Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil said people who violate isolation rules at home will face police action.
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