Removal of lockdown depends on situation between 10-15 Apr: Tope

The withdrawal of lockdown in Maharashtra will totally depend on the situation between 10-15 April, public health and family welfare minister Rajesh Tope said.

"It (withdrawal) totally depends on the situation between 10-15 (April)... we have to look into various factors particularly in Mumbai and Pune, where there are a large number of cases," Tope said on Monday during his daily briefing.

The India lockdown announced by prime minister Narendra Modi ends on 14 April midnight.

Tope said that the Centre would be issuing necessary advisories.

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"We all will sit together and take a call, chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray), deputy chief minister (Ajit Pawar) will take the decision," he said.

Tope also pointed out that the state would also look into the situation and how other countries have withdrawn the lockdown.

"One thing is there, whenever it happens, in Mumbai and Pune, we would have to do with extreme precautions... it cannot be in one go," he said, adding that the Centre's advisories and WHO guidelines will be important.

"The world has seen SARS, MERS, HIN1, they were not pandemic like COVID-19 but certain norms are there," he added.