Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that the coronavirus-induced lockdown restrictions will be lifted in the state in a zone-wise manner after May 3 and the rules will be relaxed cautiously.
In a live webcast, he said the relaxation of rules will not be carried out in haste.
"We will tread cautiously. It is in nobody's Interest to lift the lockdown in the (COVID-19) red zones like Mumbai, Pune region, Nagpur and Aurangabad, where the number of positive cases is on the rise," he said.
The government was, however, working on relaxing the rules elsewhere, he said.
"Don't crowd in places where the restrictions are relaxed, otherwise the rules will have to be made stricter," he said.
Thackeray said that in orange zones, even though there are no new positive cases, some active cases do exist, while in green zones there are no cases.
"Even in green zones, we can't take chances. Relaxations will be carried out after May 3 zone-wise. It will be one step-by-step and cautiously," he said.
Admitting that people were facing hardships due to the lockdown, he said, "But the real wealth of any country is the good health of its people. If people are safe then all is well."
The chief minister said that there is fear about COVID-19 in people's mind, which he termed as "Covid syndrome."
"We have to get out of it. We should know that the illness is curable if detected early," he said.
Thackeray said that the lockdown has acted as a "speed breaker" in the virus chain, and added that the number of positive cases in the state increased due to aggressive testing.
"Over two lakh people were tested with oximeter, of whom 272 had low oxygen level. The authorities are treating such patients as well," he said.
According to him, 75 to 80 per cent of the patients are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms.
He greeted the people on the 60th foundation day of the state.
He recalled the golden jubilee celebrations of the state held in 2010 and said the venues of those programmes, like BKC and NESCO grounds in Goregaon, are being kept ready as COVID-19 treatment facilities.
Thackeray said his government had planned to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the state on a large scale, but the government is doing all it can to fight the pandemic.
"Maharashtra Day is a day when we won Sanyukta Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital. The win became possible due to the struggle and sacrifices," he said.
