MUMBAI: After seven people tested positive for the coronavirus in Maharashtra, the state government has decided to place a ban on people watching IPL matches at the stadium.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had called a cabinet meeting on Wednesday where it was decided to restrict the entry of people into the stadium to watch IPL matches in Maharashtra. The 13th edition of the IPL is set to kick off at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 29 with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
A senior cabinet minister who was part of the meeting told TNIE that the government has been cancelling various functions where large numbers of people are likely to assemble. “People can watch IPL matches from their homes. We have already informed the organisers not to sell IPL tickets. We have to take this as a precautionary measure,” he added, requesting anonymity.
Earlier on Wednesday, the health minister Rajesh Tope said the government is putting restrictions on large numbers of people gathering at one place. “After the detection of two cases in Pune, we are tracking their co-passengers. The daughter of these patients, the cab driver who ferried them from Bombay to Pune and one co-passenger on the flight were found infected by the virus. They are being quarantined and treatment is on,” he said. Tope added that the test reports of 289 out of 309 persons were found negative.
In Maharashtra, seven patients have tested positive in Mumbai and Pune. “The patients have been quarantined at Naidu Hospital in Pune and Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai and the treatment has already started. Mild symptoms of coronavirus were found in these patients,” said Dr Deepak Mhaisekar, Divisional Commissioner of Pune.