Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is expected to announce a total lockdown in Maharashtra from Wednesday. The state cabinet took an extreme measure on Tuesday at its weekly meeting in which all ministers insisted on imposing a lockdown without delay. The cabinet set a deadline of Wednesday evening and authorised Thackeray to make an announcement, in anticipation of breaking the chain of the novel coronavirus infection because the restrictions imposed last week haven’t yielded expected results.

The cabinet was given a presentation on the caseload spike that is becoming too difficult to handle for want of medicine, beds and oxygen. Guardian ministers narrated the utter disregard the public has been showing to the restrictions in their respective districts. The ministers, who last week opposed the CM’s stand that only a blanket lockdown could be useful, on Tuesday urged Thackeray to take an extreme step.