No lockdown in Maharashtra, wearing masks mandatory for next 6 months declares CM Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said wearing masks will be mandatory for the next six months in the state. Addressing the state via video conferencing, CM Thackeray  said he is not in favour of night curfew or another lockdown in the states as coronavirus under control, though not completely. "People have followed what I advised. We have control over the situation [coronavirus]. Mostly everything has been opened. It's my duty as head of Maharashtra to ask everyone to be cautious. There have been some winter-related diseases. Mask and social distancing will help us avoid these diseases. We will have to wear masks for six more months," Uddhav Thackeray said. Earlier Thackeray had addressed the state on November 22. In the address, he had warned residents against the third coronavirus wave in the state. 

Meanwhile, with 3,940 new Covid-19 cases reported in Maharashtra, the total caseload in the state has reached 18,92,707 on Saturday. There are 61,095 active cases in the state, according to the state's Public Health Department. The state has also recorded 74 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the toll related to the deadly virus to 48,648. The recovery rate in the state is currently at 94.14 percent, while the case fatality rate is at 2.57 percent. As many as 17,81,841 people have recovered from the lethal infection in the state. With 25,153 new infections in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 case tally crossed the 1-crore mark, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday. According to the Union Health Ministry, the total numbers of recovered and active cases in the country are 95,50,712 and 3,08,751 respectively. Meanwhile, the country's death toll stands at 1,45,136.