All offices in Mumbai shut till March 31; 5 more cases in state

All workplaces in Maharashtra’s major cities, including Mumbai and Pune, will remain closed till March 31, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced on Friday, even as the state reported five more cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), taking the number of infected people to 53.

The shutdown, which exempts essential services and public transport, is from March 21 and will apply to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nagpur. The MMR includes seven other cities — Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi, Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar — and nine municipal council areas.

Following Thackeray’s diktat, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), too, has issued a circular asking all corporate offices and establishments to remain shut.

While the state diktat stated that the shutdown will begin from Friday midnight until March 31, the civic body has not specified the date.

Thackeray did not suspend suburban train and city bus services, pointing out that it could hamper the commuting of those providing essential services.

The CM also said the government will operate with only 25% of its workforce, bringing it down from 50% announced last week.

The state government directly and indirectly employs 15 lakh people.

“There have been demands to shut down trains, buses, etc. This may be a relevant suggestion, but what about people who are part of critical services such as doctors, nurses, civic employees, among others. How will they travel? So, we have decided that as of now, we won’t shut down trains or buses, but we have decided to bring the staff strength at government offices to 25%, from 50%. All shops and offices that cannot manage work from home will be shut,” said Thackeray in his video address via Facebook. The CM was flanked by public health minister Rajesh Tope and chief secretary Ajoy Mehta.

Essential services, including milk shops, grocery stores, medical shops, banks, petrol pumps will continue to function, Thackeray said. Stock exchanges, clearing corporations, depositories, stockbrokers and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)-registered participants, operating through these institutions, will be exempted from the shutdown, the chief minister’s office announced.

Thackeray expressed concern over the continuing crowds in Mumbai suburban trains and buses. He said that although the passenger count has gone down, it hasn’t reduced considerably. The shutdown, according to the chief minister, is to curb any possibility of the coronavirus infection spreading.

In his address to the state, he said that staying at home is the only “weapon” in the fight against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which he again termed a “war-like situation”.

“This is not a holiday, it is a shutdown in your interest, so avoid venturing out,” the CM said, adding that train and bus services will have to be stopped if the crowds did not go down substantially.

Tope later told reporters that the state will review the shutdown for the next two days. If the number of people venturing out does not drop significantly, the state will be forced to suspend train and bus services.

“We are seeing the response for the next two days. If the passengers in trains and bus do not reduce, we will have no choice, but to shut down the lifeline of Mumbai, while keeping emergency services on track,” he said.

Government officials said that with the next two days being a weekend, they expect reduction in crowds. The state is meanwhile preparing the plan to function with only 25% of staff. Earlier, when the staff strength was reduced to 50%, employees worked on alternate days.

Following the chief minister’s orders, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a circular, ordering all corporate offices, establishments to shut down completely. The circular issued by BMC chief Praveen Pardeshi has excluded telecommunications, port, media, banking, drinking water providers, electricity, petroleum, oil, energy and IT services providers as they are essential services.

Thackeray also urged business owners to not cut daily wages of people. “This is a part of humanity and we hope that everyone keeps up humanity by not cutting salaries of employees,” he said.

According to the BMC circular, essential services such as medical stores, hospitals, drinking water, sewerage services, banking services, telecommunication, internet services, transportation, food, vegetable and groceries etc will be allowed to function. The BMC has also excluded those providing electricity, fuel, oil, energy, media, port, and IT services. The production or manufacturing processes which require continuity may continue to function at 50 per cent staff strength, stated the circular issued by municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi. Transport services such as trains and buses are not shut, however, in Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses, the number of commuters will be kept low so people don’t travel standing. The move comes two days after the BMC asked all corporate offices to maintain 50% attendance and shops and establishments dealing with non-essential goods to remain open on alternate days.

The new circular gives powers to assistant commissioners of 24 administrative wards in the city and police to issue advisories to people to not gather in masses at sea beaches and public places. The circular stated that in case of a doubt about whether a service or establishment is essential or not, the municipal commissioner’s word will be final.

A BMC official said, “The process of inspection by us and the police will remain the same. Earlier, we were checking whether corporate offices have more than 50% attendance or not, but now we will ensure they are shut. Shops and establishments will also have to remain shut.”

Nikhil Desai, civic activist and member of BMC’s town vending committee, said, “People may face slight inconvenience as hawkers who are legal, but have not got pitches will be forced to stay shut.”

Of the five people who tested positive for the coronavirus in Maharashtra, two are from Mumbai and one each from Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Kalyan.

According to officials, the two cases in Mumbai are of a 62-year-old man who recently travelled to the United Kingdom and a 38-year-old male with a travel history of Turkey. The Kalyan patient had returned from Dubai. Senior health officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said all the high-risk and low risk contacts of the three individuals are being ascertained, and they will be tested, if required. The total cases reported in Mumbai have now gone up to 11, so far, including one death. The 38-year-old has been shifted to a private hospital, following his request. Some private hospitals have agreed to reserve up to 100 beds for Covid-19 patients.

Daksha Shah, deputy director of BMC’s health department, said, “With this, the total number of positive cases reported in MMR have gone up to 21, with 11 from Mumbai and 10 from outside the city. As of today, total number of suspected patients that have been admitted in civic facilities so far is 114.”

According to sources, the Pune patient had gone to Scotland, while the infected person from Pimpri-Chinchwad had a travel history of Phillipines

(with inputs from Sagar Pillai)