Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Maharashtra government has decided to shut the Agricultural Producers Market Committee (APMC) wholesale market in Navi Mumbai’s Vashi from May 11 to May 17.


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Government sources said that a review of the situation will be held on May 15 to decide over the reopening of the market after May 17.


The shut down order means that every market inside APMC, including markets for grains, spices, vegetables, fruits, and onions and potatoes will remain closed till May 17. The decision to shut APMC was taken after over 100 traders of APMC and around 150 of their family members tested positive for coronavirus COVID-19. 


Before the coronavirus outbreak, the supply of vegetables and other food items to Mumbai and nearby areas were done from APMC but situation has changed after the coronavirus outbreak as many trucks carrying food items are now directly entering Mumbai.


It is learnt that during the shutdown, the health officials will will conduct sanitisation and disinfection of the whole market premises.


Earlier, Navi Mumbai Mayor Jaywant Sutar had urged the Maharashtra government to close the APMC market, expressing fear that the market may turn into a coronavirus hotspot. 


Notably, Maharashtra has emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus spread where the number of cases witnessed a massive spike recently. According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra has the highest number of cases with over 22,000 positive cases of infection and more than 830 deaths.


Meanwhile, India on Monday (May 11, 2020) recorded the highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases as the total number of cases inched to 67,152 which includes 44,029 active cases, 20,916 recovered cases, 1 migrant patient and 2,206 deaths as per Ministry of Health data at 8.50 am.