MUMBAI (AP) – The abundant metropolis of Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, India’s state hardest hit by the pandemic, faces stricter restrictions for 15 days from Wednesday in an effort to stem the rise of coronavirus infections.
Senior state officials stressed that the closure of most industries, businesses, public places and traffic restrictions is not a deadlock.
Last year, a sharp, nationwide deadlock left millions out of jobs overnight. Stuck in cities without income or food, thousands of migrant workers took to the highways to get home. Since then, state leaders have repeatedly stressed that another deadlock was not on the books.
The distinction did little to allay Ramachal Yadav’s anxieties. On Wednesday morning, he joined thousands of others at a Mumbai train station boarding a train back home. “There is no work,” said the 45-year-old.
India has detected more than 180,000 new infections in the last 24 hours, about a third in the state of Maharashtra. India has so far confirmed more than 13.9 million cases and 172,000 deaths, which is probably not enough.
Maharashtra’s chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray, said most public places, shops and units will be closed on Wednesday from 8pm, awaiting essential services such as grocery stores and banks.
Although the state has announced a $ 728 million aid package that will include assistance to the poor, industry experts say the new restrictions could prove fatal to companies just recovering from last year’s economic downturn..
“Living is important, but life is more important,” Thackeray said, echoing a difficult choice facing other Indian states.
The scenes that have taken place in Maharashtra in the last week reflect those that are developing in other parts of the country: patients panting for air have moved away from hospitals that are running out of oxygen and weeping families waiting their turn to say goodbye. from loved ones to crematoria
Worsening concerns are whether India, despite being the world’s largest vaccine maker, will have enough to immunize its large population quickly enough to slow the virus.
India said on Tuesday it would authorize vaccines that the World Health Organization or regulators had issued as a matter of urgency in the United States, Europe, Britain or Japan. Indian regulators have also approved Russia’s Sputnik V for emergency use. However, experts say the decision is unlikely to have an immediate impact on available deliveries in the country.
“All we can think about is that I hope I don’t get sick next month, something like that,” said Dr. Vineeta Bal, who studies the immune system at the Indian Institute of Education and Scientific Research in Pune, Maharashtra.
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Ghosal reported from New Delhi.
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