Uddhav Thackeray to meet BMC officials today

Mumbai:  Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will on Friday preside over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s pre-monsoon preparations to assess the situation in Mumbai and the state of the corona virus in the city.  Thackeray is expected to address the citizens of the city after the meeting on Friday at 4 p.m.  Mumbai, the second most affected city in India by the COVID-19 epidemic, has been witnessing an increase in the corona virus since the end of January.  On Thursday, the Mumbai Kovid-19 had crossed 5.53 lakh.  The city reported 8,200 cases.  Another 49 people have died in Mumbai due to the infection, bringing the total to 12,189.  Meanwhile, after discharging 10,097 patients from more hospitals, the city’s COVID-19 recovery rate reached 82 percent, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4.54 million.  At present, Mumbai has a growth rate of 1.64 per cent and the case doubling rate is 42 days.  Earlier this week, Thackeray announced new restrictions on the city for the next 15 days, amid alarming rise in cases. 

Pointing out that "the war against the corona virus has resumed", Thackeray announced that Section-144 CRCP would come into force across the state for the next 15 days, during which time only essential services would be allowed.  The appointments were announced by Civil Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal during a virtual meeting with Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aditya Thackeray and Food and Drugs Commissioner Abhimanyu Kale,

BMC said in a statement.  Officials said they would issue instructions on the use of oxygen for private hospitals and nursing homes.  The gas will be distributed uninterruptedly with oxygen suppliers, civil ward officers and the Food and Drug Administration.