Coronavirus Pandemic: BMC takes action against 115 people for spitting in public

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted Maharashtra in a big way. There are 101 positive cases in the state at the time of filing this story. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to avoid further spread of the disease has increased the penalty of spitting in public from ₹200 to ₹1,000. The civic body has been taking stringent steps to maintain hygiene in the city and despite the penalty, it was observed that some people had no regard for the rule whatsoever.

On Saturday, the municipal corporation collected fine worth ₹1.15 lakh from 115 individuals who were caught spitting on Mumbai streets. So far, 41 patients have been tested positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai and yet, the people fail to understand the gravity of the situation.

Following the public's passive response to the appeals by Maharashtra Chief Minister, Udhhav Thackeray, the state government imposed a statewide curfew. After the lockdown came into effect, only seven individuals were booked for spitting on Mumbai streets on Monday.

The people who were booked on Monday were from Bandra, Kandivali, and Bhandup. The BMC collected a penalty of ₹7,000 from the seven individuals. Three of them were from Kandivali whereas two each were from Bandra and Bhandup.

Earlier on Friday, the BMC had said that it had collected a total of ₹1,63,000 as it had fined 163 people.

With more case of coronavirus emerging in the state, the government has amplified its efforts to tackle the situation. They have directed the private hospitals to ready isolation wards on a priority basis.

Alongside, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved four new private hospitals/health institutions to conduct testing for COVID-19. As of now, only institutions like the Kasturba Hospital and KEM Hospital have been conducting coronavirus tests. These tests are free of cost. The ICMR mentioned that it received applications from 20 firms for setting up coronavirus testing labs, with only four companies getting the approval: Thyrocare, Suburban Diagnostics, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd Mumbai, H N Reliance Foundation Hospital.