Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray while addressing the state on Sunday praised the citizens as the discipline showed by them has brought the Covid-19 pandemic under control but also warned the people not to ignore safety measures as it can trigger a second or third wave "like a tsunami".
"In the past, we celebrated all our festivals with caution. Be it Ganesh Utsav or Dussehra. Even while celebrating Diwali, I requested you to not burst crackers and you followed. And because of this, the war against Covid-19 is in our control," he said.
Citing his anger as people were seen not wearing masks, Thackeray warned the people that the second and the third wave can be strong as Tsunami as night curfews are again being imposed in different parts of the country.
"But I am a bit angry with you all. I had already said after Diwali there will be overcrowding. I have seen many people not wearing masks. Don't think Covid-19 is over. Don't be so careless. Be in western countries, Delhi or Ahmedabad. This second and third wave is strong like a tsunami. Ahmedabad has even enforced night curfews,” Thackeray said.
Further stating the unavailability of vaccines and an enormous population he said, "Covid-19 is not dying because of overcrowding. In fact, is going to grow. The vaccine is still not out, and we don't know when it will come out. Even if it comes out in December, then when will it come to Maharashtra? Maharashtra has 12 crore people. And it needs to be given twice. So, we will need a vaccine for 25 crore people. So please take care of yourself. It will take time.”
"If we don't have enough beds, our healthcare workers get infected, then nobody can save us. This is not the case right now, but we still must be very careful. We have still not been able to open schools. We are at a cusp. I don't want to go to any lockdown again," the Chief Minister further said.
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Appealing to the citizens of the state to take all precautionary measures and avoid overcrowding the CM said while concluding, "Hence once again I want to tell you, do not overcrowd, wear a mask, wash hands, and keep a distance. This alone will keep us safe. I have now opened all places of worship. But please do not overcrowd these places.”
Maharashtra has been the worst-hit state by the Covid-19 pandemic, as the state reported the highest number of coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
Till now the state has reported around 18 lakh coronavirus cases so far, with less than 82,000 active cases. On Sunday, Maharashtra reported 5,753 new cases and 50 deaths while 4,060 patients recovered.