'No Need For Stricter Lockdown,' Assures Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray In Address Over Covid Situation

CM Uddhav Thackeray was addressing the citizens to inform them about the current covid-19 situation in the state.

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that there is no need for a stricter lockdown in the state as people are following the Covid-19 restrictions.

"We have been to contain the spread of Covid-19 due to restrictions and lockdown. Our estimate was that there might be 10 lakh positive active patients, but now it is 7 lakh cases," he added.

CM Uddhav Thackeray was addressing the citizens to inform them about the current covid-19 situation in the state. He talked about several issues such as availability of medical oxygen, Remdesivir, Covid vaccine supply, and more.

Addressing the issue of oxygen shortages, the Chief Minister said that the state has a production of 1200 MT of oxygen: "We are using 1700 MT per day. We are trying to transport oxygen on a timely basis but if the numbers keep rising, this can be a problem".

"I have told them that all hospitals should now have oxygen generating plants. We have opened tenders for them and have started procurement," the CM added.

Talking about the shortage of Remdesivir, CM Uddhav said that the daily requirement right now is 50,000 vials.

He reported that the central government had given 26,700 vials earlier and then the state requested Prime Minister for more supplies. Now, even though there is a provision for 43,000, the state is actually getting 35,000, he claimed. "We are paying for them," he added.

Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray also warned people about not using Remdesivir unnecessarily as a doctor is supposed to make a decision about it. 

Speaking about the Phase 3 vaccination drive, the Maharashtra CM stated that the state government is ready to purchase 12 crore doses.

"We are in talks with all vaccine-making companies - not just Serum Institute of India and Bharat biotech, but also Sputnik V... As per the Central government, 18 lakh doses will be allotted to us in the month of May," he revealed.

The third phase of the Covid vaccination drive is set to begin on May 1 wherein people above the age of 18 years have been made eligible to get the jabs. However, several state governments like Delhi, Punjab, Goa, and Karnataka have informed that the drive in their regions will not begin as planned to the shortage in supply.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Friday reported 62,919 new Coronavirus cases along with 828 deaths and 69,710 discharges in the last 24 hours. The active cases in the state are reported to be 6,62,640.