I.The western state of Maharashtra, which is home to the country’s financial hub Mumbai, said on Sunday it would impose new coronavirus-related restrictions in four areas, amid concerns about a second wave and the slow spread of vaccines.
India, with a population of about 1.4 billion, has reported 10.9 million confirmed coronavirus diseases, the second highest in the world after the United States, and 156,212 deaths. It has vaccinated around 11 million people since mid-January.
As the number of cases has gone up in the last few days, the Indian Ministry of Health has called on several states to expand testing and surveillance, including Maharashtra, which has about 112 million people and is making up about 16% of India’s economic output.
Maharashtra Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray said daily affairs in the state had risen to nearly 7,000 from around 2,000 earlier this month, calling for tougher measures from Monday to control the spread of the war. virus in four areas of the state.
“The second wave has been knocking on our door. Whether or not it will be confirmed in the next eight to 15 days,” he said in a televised address, adding that restrictions may be extended beyond these four areas if necessary.