With a renewed acceleration of COVID cases in Mumbai, the BMC has implemented the reversal of certain lockdown restrictions ensuring a strict watch on individuals who flout the guidelines. According to reports, Mumbai will once again witness the locking of high-risk complexes and floors and stamping of asymptomatic patients amidst a list of measures. The civic body's intervention is prompted by a single day spike of 736 in Mumbai's Covid tally on Thursday accompanied by the rising number of daily infections in Maharashtra, that breached the 5,000 mark on the same day.
BMC's detailed directives to arrest the COVID spread
As per the directives issued by BMC, residential complexes with more than 5 active cases of the coronavirus would be sealed and all individuals without a mask in public places, like malls and gymnasiums, would be rigorously penalised. In addition to this, citizens defying the guidelines for home isolation, weddings and public gatherings will be fined and prosecuted, and in case the violation is grave, it may also lead to an FIR. Additionally, if an individual under home quarantine is found roaming outsides, serious offence charges will be registered against him/her.
The civic body has also planned for the deployment of 300 officers in Mumbai locals to catch passengers without a mask. These officers will try to fine about 25,000 offenders daily. While eateries in the city have been instructed to operate at 50% occupancy, it has been ordered that functions and gatherings should not have more than 50 individuals.
Given the spread of a more harmful COVID strain in Brazil, the authorities have mandated a seven-day institutional quarantine for all individuals arriving at the Mumbai International Airport from the country.
BMC interventions prompted by soaring COVID tallies
On Friday, Mumbai registered a confirmed cumulative tally of 3,16,487 COVID patients while the count for the state of Maharashtra stood at 20,81,520. The city and the state recorded 4,782 and 40,858 active cases of the coronavirus respectively. After the COVID graph undertook a dampened trajectory for 75 days, new cases crossed the 5,000 mark on Thursday which alerted the BMC to intervene.
