Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray received the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. The second phase of the nationwide vaccination drive, which started on March 1, is currently underway. The Chief Minister took the vaccine at JJ Hospital, Mumbai. After taking the COVID-19 vaccine, CM Uddhav Thackeray said: "There is no need for anyone to have any fear or confusion about the COVID vaccine. I have just been vaccinated and I am standing right in front of you. So, it is my humble appeal to all my citizens who are eligible for vaccination to go get it without any doubt in their minds."
CM Thackeray was accompanied by Rashmi Thackeray, Meenatai Patankar and Shiv Sena Secretary Milind Narvekar who were also vaccinated. Thackeray said that everyone should avoid crowding in public places. However, still the situation has not gone out of control. On Wednesday, the state recorded 13,659 new coronavirus cases - the highest single-day spike this year. The state now has a total of 22,52,057 coronavirus cases. The death toll is now at 52,610. It was on October 8 last year that Maharashtra had recorded 13,395 COVID-19 cases after which the number of daily cases had been on a steady decline. Today, amid rising COVID-19 cases, the authorities in Nagpur declared a complete lockdown in the city from March 15 to 21. Nagpur Guardian Minister Nitin Raut said during the period of the lockdown, only essential services like vegetable shops and milk booths will be allowed to remain open.