MUMBAI (AP) – The booming metropolis of Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, the Indian state worst hit by the pandemic, have 15 days stricter restrictions in an attempt to stem the rise of coronavirus infections from Wednesday.
Major government officials have stressed that the closure of most industries, businesses, public places and the restriction of the movement of people is not an exclusion.
Last year, a sudden, harsh, nationwide exclusion left millions working overnight. Thousands of migrant workers walked in cities without income or food on highways to get home. Since then, state leaders have repeatedly stressed that there has not yet been a closure.
The distinction did little to allay Ramachal Yadav’s concerns. On Wednesday morning, he joined thousands of others at a train station in Mumbai to take the train home again. “There is no job,” the 45-year-old said.
India has detected more than 180,000 new infections in the past 24 hours, about a third in Maharashtra. India has so far confirmed more than 13.9 million cases and 172,000 deaths in a census.
Uddhav Thackeray, chief minister of Maharashtra, said most public places, shops and businesses will be closed from 8pm on Wednesday, expecting essential services such as grocery stores and banks.
Although the state has announced a $ 728 million emergency relief package that will include assistance to the poor, industry experts say the new restrictions could be fatal for businesses that have just recovered from last year’s economic recession..
“Livelihoods are important, but life is more important,” Thackeray said, reflecting a difficult choice facing other states in India.
The scenes that took place in Maharashtra over the past week reflect those that have developed in other parts of the country: patients gasping for air have turned away from hospitals running out of oxygen and crying families waiting their turn to say goodbye to their loved ones at crematoria.
Burdensome problems are the question of whether India, although it is the world’s largest producer of vaccines, will have enough to immunize its large population fast enough to slow down the virus.
India said on Tuesday that it may approve vaccines that have been given emergency care by the World Health Organization or regulators in the United States, Europe, Britain or Japan. Indian regulators have also approved Russian Sputnik V for emergency use. But experts said the decision was unlikely to have an immediate impact on the country’s available supplies.
“All one can think of is that I hope I don’t get sick next month or so,” said Dr. Vineeta Bal, who studies immune systems at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune, in the state of Maharashtra, said. .
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Ghosal reported from New Delhi.
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