Corporations in MMR race to control the pandemic even as cumulative cases as of July 9 stand at 63,386
A cordoned-off street in Parsik Nagar, Thane West. Pic/Sameer Markande
As expected, the lockdown has been extended for another week in MMR corporations, including Mira Bhayandar, Thane and Kalyan Dombivli. While Thane's and Kalyan Dombivli's corporations have declared a lockdown till 5 pm on July 19, Mira Bhayandar will be under lockdown till July 18. The move comes as cases doubled in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in the past two weeks.
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Four corporations in the region got new commissioners a few weeks ago. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has allowed housemaids to work during the lockdown.
Not only has the number of cumulative and active cases increased two-fold in the past 15 days, but the active cases were 1.5 times more than Mumbai's on July 8.
Cumulative cases increased from 29,111 on June 22 to 63,386 on July 9. The number of active cases also increased from 16,929 to 34,768 during the same period. There were 23,785 active patients in Mumbai on July 9.
While the state government appointed four commissioners with a background in medicine for better management and imposed a strict lockdown of 10 days from June 2, there hasn't been much of a difference in the situation. On Wednesday, the municipal commissioners of corporations from MMR had met state officials to discuss the lockdown extension.
The MMR consists of Thane district, Thane city, Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Mira-Bhayandar, Palghar and Vasai-Virar. While in Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mira Bhayandar the cases doubled, in Kalyan-Dombivli there was three-fold increase.
The extended lockdown will come in force in Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli on July 12 when the current one ends.
In his order, TMC Commissioner Dr. Bipin Sharma said that the rules remain mostly the same except that housemaids are allowed to work. All shops, including vegetable markets, will be closed. Online order of groceries and medicines is allowed, alcohol can be home-delivered. Essential services and manufacturing units will be allowed to operate. While intercity transport is banned, vehicles coming from outside and going to other cities will be allowed.
The Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) had a complete lockdown between April 19 and May 17. All shops, excluding milk booths and pharmacies, will remain closed. Flour mills may operate during the day. Residents can get groceries, vegetables, and liquor home delivered. Navi Mumbai is under lockdown till July 13 and Ulhasnagar till July 12.
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