Maharashtra cabinet minister and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's son, Aaditya Thackeray, has tested positive for the coronavirus. In a tweet today, he urged those who had come in contact with him to get tested for the virus.
"On having mild symptoms of COVID, I had myself tested and I am COVID positive. I request everyone who came in contact with me to get themselves tested. I urge everyone to realise that it is extremely important to not let your guard down. Please follow COVID protocols & stay safe," he tweeted.
Maharashtra is facing a huge surge in daily coronavirus cases. The state has been reporting over 25,000 Covid cases for the last two days - which is its highest ever daily spike. Mumbai, the state capital, also reported over 3,000 cases on Friday.
Uddhav Thackeray yesterday said that lockdown was one of the options before the state government to stem the rapid growth of the virus in the state.
The state government had on Friday announced that all theatres, auditoriums and offices in Maharashtra will take in only 50 per cent of their capacity till March 31.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has said in an order that it will test people for the coronavirus randomly at crowded places without their consent.
The country's overall coronavirus figure today was 40,953 - highest daily-rise since November 29 last year.
Maharashtra's contribution in the daily national surge has been over 60 per cent for the last few days.
The Centre today wrote a letter to the states asking them to enforce anti-Covid protocols strictly.
"After a steady decline in the number of COVID-19 cases for about five months, for the last few weeks, the number is showing an increasing trend in several parts of the country. It has been observed that it is largely due to laxity in the observance of COVID-appropriate behaviour by people, especially at crowded places," Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said in the letter.
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