Excerpts from Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s address to the State today:

• In just Mumbai, over 22,000-23,000 tests have been conducted, and overall 40,000+ tests have been conducted in Maharashtra till today morning.
• The Maharashtra Government has been fighting the crisis with fortitude and doing all we can. By today morning, we had around 2,334 positive cases and 230 positive cases have been discharged after treatment. Around 32 people are serious, but stable.
• I want to tell you something special. I spoke to two people today. They showed the courage of a warrior and the conviction that a problem can be overcome by fortitude.

One of them is Tanishk More, a 6 month old child who defeated corona. I spoke to his mother. I also spoke on phone to an 86-year old grandmother, who was cured of corona and went home. From a six-month old to an 86-year old, they have defeated corona!

• Our Government did something else. It has created a task force under Dr Sanjay Oak, and experts from across specialisations in medicine like cardiac care and nephrology. This team began work yesterday.
• They will formulate a line of treatment and guidelines to cure people in Mumbai and Maharashtra. They will guide the health services. It also includes private practitioners and those from the Municipal Corporation & Health Department.
• As I said, we have created a bifurcation between COVID and non-COVID hospitals. Patients with COVID will be taken to one set of hospitals, while another will be for those without it.
• In COVID hospitals, experts will also be present to do dialysis, treat cardiac issues and diabetes. This is a new step.
• As I said earlier, after the COVID scourge is over, we may have to face an economic crisis. We must be ready for this from now. So, two teams have been formed for that as well.
• A group of Ministers under DCM @AjitPawarSpeaks ji will study how the lockdown will be gradually lifted, permissions to be given and to whom, the economic measures and precautions to be taken. This will be done by my colleagues in the cabinet.
• Similarly, a team under Dr Raghunath Mashelkar ji, Dr Vijay Kelkar ji, Deepak Parekh ji and Ajit Ranade ji will suggest measures to cushion the economy from the coming disruption.
• In Mumbai and Pune, we are taking extra precautions. This includes increasing tests and testing centres, containment zones and quarantining those who have come in contact with corona positive cases, and isolating them based on symptoms to prevent transmission.

I am proud to spell out our new initiative. We have applied to the Centre to seek permissions for a Plasma Treatment Center in Maharashtra and for a BCG vaccine experiment.

• This is not the time for politics when this battle is on. The crisis must be countered with courage and unity. If not, we do not need an external enemy.