Very worried about Maharashtra, it's a serious matter: Govt on COVID-19 cases

New Delhi: The Centre is "very worried" about the upsurge in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul said on Thursday, adding the virus cannot be taken for granted if the country has to remain Covid-free. The remark comes on a day when Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a week-long lockdown - from March 15 to March 21 - in Nagpur, which reported over 1800 cases in a day.

"We are very worried about Maharashtra. This is a serious matter. This has two lessons - don't take the virus for granted, and if we have to remain Covid free, then, we need to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour," he said, while addressing a press conference.

The union health ministry today said that eight of the 10 cities with the highest number of active cases belong to Maharashtra. They include - Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Mumbai, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nashik and Aurangabad.

Maharashtra, the worst-hit state in the country, today reported 13,659 daily coronavirus cases, which is 60 percent of the country's single-day total.

Mr Thackeray had last month warned that lockdown would have to reimposed if the latest Covid surge in Maharashtra was not stemmed. Today, he said more districts may face lockdown.

"Some areas of Maharashtra will witness strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection. The government is going to hold a special meeting with officials before coming out with the lockdown measures," he said.