53 journalists test positive for coronavirus in Mumbai: Reports
In a worrying incident, 53 journalists tested positive for coronavirus in Mumbai, the worst-affected city in India, reports said on Monday. The lot that has contracted the infection includes reporters, cameramen of news channels and photojournalists. All of them are under isolation. An official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the number is likely to shoot up. Samples of 171 journalists were taken.
Earlier, journalists from Chennai tested positive
This development was confirmed by Amey Ghole, a member of BMC's health committee. Meanwhile, journalist Ashok Bagriya revealed that the entire team of reporters of a channel in Mumbai has contracted the infection. Most of these journalists were asymptomatic. Earlier, two journalists from Chennai and one scribe from Bhopal tested positive for coronavirus. The latter attended former Chief Minister Kamal Nath's press meet.
Mumbai recorded highest single-day spike yesterday
On a related note, Mumbai continues to be jolted due to COVID-19. On Sunday, the maximum city recorded its highest single-day spike of 456 cases. This surge is expected to have catastrophic effects on the doubling rate, which showed some improvement in the last few days. In Maharashtra, the number of coronavirus cases stands at 3,651, the largest for any state. 311 have died.
In some zones, Thackeray lifted restrictions
In some areas, however, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray lifted the lockdown curbs. "We are relaxing the restrictions in Green and Orange zones with no and fewer number of COVID-19 patients to a certain extent. The industrial operations in these zones will be allowed, but the employers will have to arrange for the food and lodging of the employees," he said.
Mumbai and Pune will not be given any relaxations
But no restrictions were given in Pune and Mumbai. Both these cities account for 90.5% and 89.4% of all coronavirus linked deaths in Maharashtra. This is concerning since the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune account for almost 25% of Maharashtra's population.