New Delhi: As Maharashtra sees another surge in COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is considering making face masks mandatory in Mumbai suburban trains. The move came up for discussion on Friday (June 24) as the CM, who is battling a rebellion of MLAs, reviewed the coronavirus situation with senior government officials.
According to an official statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Thackeray held a virtual meeting with senior bureaucrats in which he discussed the possibility of making face masks mandatory for suburban train passengers.
“The mask mandate option was discussed as a measure to contain the rising cases of Novel Corona Virus infection in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR),” the statement said. The Maharashtra government did away with the requirement of masks in April this year, as there was a drop in cases.
According to an official statement, Uddhav Thackeray said, “Coronavirus cases are increasing in the state mainly in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Raigad and Palghar districts. People should follow COVID-19-appropriate behavior on their own.” In early June, Maharashtra’s chief minister urged people to use face masks and get vaccinated if they wanted to avoid COVID-19 restrictions.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra recorded 4,205 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, taking the total tally to 79,54,445. With your new ones, the death toll rose to 1,47,896, the state health department said.
Of the new cases, Mumbai alone reported 1,898 cases and the test positivity rate in the city currently stands at 12.70 per cent. On Thursday, Maharashtra crossed the 5000-mark with 5,218 fresh coronavirus cases. Notably, the number of active COVID-19 cases has crossed the 25,000-mark in the state.
first published:June 25, 2022, 9:11 a.m.
