'Government's priority is to tackle COVID-19 crisis' : Aaditya Thackeray

Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena MLA, recently speaking to the media stated that the priority of the state government is to tackle the pandemic at the moment. This comes after the Shiv Sena received criticism from the opposition regarding the handling of COVID-19 in Maharashtra.

Thackeray was earlier in Thane reviewing the COVID-19 situation and taking note of the measures undertaken by the Thane Municipal Corporation to contain the spread of the contagious disease. The Sena leader also handed over five oxygen concentrators each to the cities of Thane, Ulhasnagar, Mira Bhayandar and Kalyan- Dombivli. Furthermore, he also launched an app developed by the Thane Municipal Corporation for online hospital bed allocation and ambulance booking.

I’ve handed of 5 oxygen concentrators each to cities of Thane, Ulhasnagar, Mira Bhayandar and Kalyan- Dombivli, will be giving more. Thankful to the donors for this. pic.twitter.com/kL2CbnX92B

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 4, 2020

In the midst of the rising number of coronavirus cases in Thane, Thackeray stressed on the need for increased contact-tracing and maintenance of good facilities at the quarantine centres. He further asked the civic officials to periodically inspect the quarantine centres and check various facilities provided in these centres, including the supply of food. The Thane district comprises of six municipal corporations and two municipal councils. As of June 2, the Thane Municipal Corporation had reported 361 deaths due to COVID-19 followed by 178 deaths in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) areas.

The review meeting was attended by Thane Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde, Mayor Naresh Mhaske and other senior leaders from the district.

With the surge in the number of cases of coronavirus, Thane had earlier implemented a lockdown from July 2 to July 12. In view of this lockdown, any non-essential activities are prohibited, along with the gathering of five or more people. The civic body has opined that this will help curb the ever-growing numbers. People have also been asked to maintain social distancing protocols and abide by the rules to contain the spread of the disease.