'In hands of people': Mumbai mayor Kishori Pedenkar warns of another COVID-19 lockdown

Amid a rise in coronavirus cases in Mumbai again, Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday warned that the city would head towards another lockdown if people did not follow COVID-19 precautions.

According to news agency ANI, Pednekar expressed concern over most people not wearing masks while travelling in local trains and urged people to take precautions.

"Whether lockdown will be implemented again, is in the hands of people," the news agency quotes her as saying.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, too,  had on Monday termed the surge in COVID-19 cases in some districts of the state as alarming and warned of some "harsh decisions".

"I have come across ((reports that) people are not following the COVID-19 guidelines which are aimed at checking the spread of the infection. If the situation worsens, we may need to pay heavy cost for this carelessness. The number (of new cases in the state) is alarming. We have seen that lockdown was imposed in many parts of the world again in view of the second wave of the pandemic," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

"Harsh decisions can be taken and the people should remain prepared. If certain decisions are not taken in time then we will have to pay a heavy cost later," Pawar added.

According to data released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai reported 461 new cases and three deaths on Tuesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 3,15.030 and toll to 11,423.

There are 5,649 active cases in Mumbai and the doubling rate is now 445 days, according to the civic body. According to news agency PTI, officials said that the doubling rate on 10 February was 555. The overall growth rate of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai between 9 and 15 February is 0.16 percent, according to the BMC.

The city had reported 493 new cases on Monday and 645 on Sunday.

After several months, local train services had opened for general passengers from 1 February in non-peak hours. In the peak hours( from 7 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 9 pm) only essential staff can avail of the services while single women travellers and those with a special pass from the state government can travel on the trains throughout the day.

With inputs from agencies