In the wake of mounting COVID-19 cases, an eight-day lockdown from July 22 to 30 will be enforced in Sangli district in western Maharashtra, said senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and district Guardian Minister Jayant Patil on Monday.
“The lockdown will be in force from 10 p.m. onwards on July 22 and last till 10 p.m. on July 30 owing to a drastic spike in COVID-19 cases over the last few days. While we had not earlier planned to take such a measure, the recent rise in cases has compelled us to do so,” said Mr. Patil, who is also the State Water Resources Minister.
He said the lockdown would be enforced in the district’s municipal areas which come under the jurisdiction of the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad civic body and in other municipal council areas. While the rural parts would be exempt, Mr. Patil appealed to people there to observe a ‘Janata Curfew’ and desist from stepping out of their homes without reason.
Earlier, Mr. Patil and Minister of State and Congress MLA from Palus-Kadegaon, Vishwajeet Kadam, had held a review meeting with senior officials of the Sangli district administration.
The move comes close on the heels of a stern, week-long lockdown being imposed in neighbouring Kolhapur, which commenced on Monday.
Sangli reported 64 new cases on Monday, taking its total case tally to 1,009 of whom 542 are active ones. The district has reported 33 deaths till date.
Meanwhile, the total case tally in Pune division — which includes Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur districts — has now reached 64,914 while the total death toll has reached 1,886, as per Pune divisional office figures. Of the total division tally, 24,444 cases were active.
Satara reported a massive surge of 273 new cases as its total case tally shot to 2,551 of whom 1,165 are active cases. The district’s total death count has risen to 79.
Pune Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said given the grim situation developing in Satara, a lockdown was likely to be announced there anytime soon. He also said a lockdown was already under way in Solapur district, which is second only to Pune among the worst-hit districts in the division.
Solapur saw a big surge of 362 fresh cases today, taking its total tally to 5,627 of whom 2,385 cases are active. The district’s death toll stands at 373.
“We have started a campaign for early detection of cases in Solapur. I have had a discussion with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray regarding rising cases and death there. A medical team comprising of doctors from Latur, Nanded and Pune is already working in Solapur for the past two weeks,” Dr. Mhaisekar said.
