MUMBAI: On a day his government granted a slew of relaxations in non-containment zones while extending the latest lockdown till June 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said people should tread cautiously while beginning the "new life".
In his televised address to the state, the CM said the "Mission Begin Again", the nomenclature chose by the state government for the fifth phase of the lockdown which it extended till June 30, is aimed at restarting lives again.
"The permission for outdoor physical activities, opening of shops and markets, offices is a trial to check on how we should move forward, but we should tread cautiously. Lockdown should now be thrown into dustbin," he said.
He said if lockdown is science, lifting it is an art.
Thackeray likened the "Mission begin again" to walking in heavy rains with people holding their hands and walking carefully.
"But even as we begin afresh, we have to take cautious steps," he said.
Under "Mission Begin Again", all markets, market areas and shops, except malls, will be allowed to open from June 5 on the odd-even basis in non-containment zones across Maharashtra.
However, religious places, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants will continue to remain closed.
Thackeray also said the prevailing situation is not conducive to allow holding of the final year university exams.
"Aggregate Marks of semester exams will be taken and students will be given marks," he said.
"I held talks with vice-chancellors. I may be the CM and they may be vice-chancellors but we all are also parents. We cannot let our children suffer. Those students who feel they could have done better if they had appeared for the final year exams, they will be given a chance when the situation normalises," he said.
The state government is more keen to ensure that the academic year starts on time in June than re-opening schools.
"Schools in rural areas where there is no pandemic spread can start whereas in cities online education can be given priority," he said.
The CM also said that doorstep distribution of newspapers will be allowed from June 7.
Delivery of newspapers was banned in Mumbai and Pune.
He further said the state government's consistent focus since the last two months has been on curbing the pandemic.
"Ramping up the number of laboratories and testing will be priority," he said, adding that 28,000 of 65,000 COVID-19 patients in the state have recovered and discharged.
Maharashtra's COVID-19 case count as on May 31 stands at 67,655 with 2,286 deaths, mainly fuelled by Mumbai's case count of 39,686 and 1,279 fatalities, which is the highest in the country.
Thackeray listed health and education as the priority areas for his government, saying the COVID-19 pandemic has also taught positive lessons.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition, the CM said he felt bad that attempts are being made to "malign" the image of the state.
Referring to speculations about a survival threat to his tripartite government, Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Sena, said he wasn't worried since people are backing the ruling dispensation.
Meanwhile, he also appealed to fishermen to not venture into the Arabian sea following the Met department's observation of a brewing cyclonic storm that could hit the coasts of Maharashtra and Gujarat by June 3.
"People on the west coast should remain alert. The administration is fully geared up to tackle any eventuality," he said.
Maharashtra's COVID-19 case count jumped by 2,487 to 67,655 on Sunday while the death toll rose by 89, including 52 in worst-hit Mumbai, to 2,286, state Health Department said.
A total of 1,248 COVID-19 patients were discharged in the day, taking the total number of the recovered cases to 29,329, as per the health bulletin.
Mumbai now accounts for 39,686 of the total 67,655 cases in Maharashtra and 1,279 fatalities of the total 2,286.
The number of active cases in the state stands at 36,040, it said.
The number of active containment zones stood at 3,157, it said.
Maharashtra coronavirus tally is as follows: Positive cases67,655, discharged cases2 9,329, deaths 2,286, active cases 36,040 and people tested 4,62,176.
Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government decided to extend the ongoing lockdown till June 30, and announced easing of restrictions under the "Mission Begin Again".
As per the revised guidelines, all markets, market areas and shops, except malls, will be allowed to function from June 5 on an odd-even basis.