The Maharashtra government will extend coronavirus-related restrictions in the state after June 1 to stem the spread of the infection, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Thursday. He added that the curbs will be relaxed later in a phased manner.
Thackeray added that the daily case count in the state had reached the levels recorded in September last year, but it was important to keep the guard up, PTI reported. The decision to extend the curbs was taken at a Cabinet meeting headed by Thackeray.
“The positivity rate of cases is slowly declining, but in 10 to 15 districts it still remains very high,” the chief minister’s office said in a tweet. “Besides, there is threat of the “black fungus” infections.”
“Black fungus” disease is caused by a fungus named mucor, which is found on wet surfaces. The symptoms of the infection include headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion, and partial loss of vision, among others. It mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness and most commonly affects the sinuses or the lungs after inhaling fungal spores from the air, acccording to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Maharashtra recorded 21,273 new coronavirus cases and 425 deaths due to the infection on Thursday. The number of active cases in the state stood at 3,01,041. Maharashtra has been under a lockdown since mid-April when the second wave of the pandemic resulted in high number of cases.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!