Within a month of the first case getting detected, Malegaon, the textile hub of Maharashtra has emerged as a major Covid-19 hotspot.
On April 5, Malegaon recorded five positive cases. Within a week the number had gone up to 27 and two people died because of the disease.
With the number of positive cases rising in Malegaon every day, state health minister Rajesh Tope reached Nashik a couple of days ago and said the state government has started ‘Mission Malegaon’.
However, it may take some time for the government to successfully contain the virus in Malegaon city, located in Nashik district of Maharashtra.
Gloomy statistics
As of Sunday, Malegaon city had already recorded 12 deaths and 324 Covid-19 positive Covid-19 cases. Of the 324 people who tested positive in Malegaon, 40 are policemen. Only 20 people in the city have recovered from the disease so far.
Many people felt that small cities/towns like Malegaon were not prioritised as much as Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. The Maharashtra government jumped into action to prevent the rise of cases in major cities in the state.
Testing and containing the virus still remains a top priority in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune. However, small cities and towns like Malegaon may see an explosion due to lack of monitoring and testing.
While it remains to be seen whether Mission Malegaon helps in limiting Covid-19 cases, the damage already seems to be done.
Power looms were working
Despite the nationwide lockdown, textile power looms continued operations in Malegaon.
Many power looms were working without any social distancing in place. The administration finally cracked down on this after discovery and 7 power looms were sealed.
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