As the number of coronavirus cases in India rise to 46,433 and the death toll touches 1,568, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said that people in metros like Delhi and Mumbai not following the lockdown guidelines properly was one the main reasons these cities are not performing well in containing the spread of the coronavirus as compared to other cities.
“I have a feeling that people in these cities have not followed lockdown principles quite adequately. Rural India has behaved much more responsibly than urban parts,” Dr Harsh Vardhan told News 18.
However, the Union Health Minister admitted that the rise in cases in some big cities could be due to a large number of international travellers while stating that these cities have huge slums where the social distancing norms and lockdown guidelines are difficult to implement.
According to the Union Health Ministry, the number of cases in India has touched 46,433. Of these, Maharashtra has reported 14,541 COVID-19 cases while Mumbai alone has reported 9,310 cases. The death toll in the state has reached to 583.
Dharavi, one of Asia’s biggest slums in Mumbai, is home to over 10 lakh people living in only 2.1 square kilometres and has reported 590 COVID-19 cases while the death toll has reached to 20.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan’s remarks come as the Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) are in Mumbai, Thane and Pune to assist the local administration to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The Maharashtra government on Sunday allowed the liquor shops to open, even in red zones which led to people queuing up outside liquor stores in huge numbers. This comes after India has entered the Lockdown 3.0 announced by the centre in the wake of increasing cases of the COVID-19.
Liquor brings the major part of the revenue for Maharashtra. An official from the state excise department said that the liquor sale earned ₹45,000 crores in the form of taxes on it in 2019-20.
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