Mumbai, May 23 (IANS): Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, here on Saturday, praised the Covid-19 pandemic warriors for waging a 'war without arms' against the invisible virus for the safety of people.

In an open letter, Thackeray said he was filled with pride by the services rendered by the corona warriors, engaged in a difficult combat in these critical times.

"Now, many more are inspired like you. Each citizen of Maharashtra is like a soldier tackling this pandemic. This is in a way a worship of the country and the lord, in the established ancient culture and traditions of this state," Thackeray said.

Responding to the Chief Minister's recent call, over 21,750 people have offered to work as corona warriors and lend a helping hand to the authorities as Mumbai and Maharashtra remained the worst-affected by the pandemic.

The applications include over 12,100 who are directly connected to the health sector, like doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, ward boys and paramedics.

The remaining 9,650 are from the IT sector, teachers, security services and social workers. Of the total, over 3,700 have expressed readiness to serve in the red zones.

For Mumbai, more than 3,750 have expressed readiness to work in the jumbo healthcare (Wuhan type) facilities, set up by the state government, to house Covid-19 patients of different categories at NESCO, Goregaon, NSCI Worli and Bandra Kurla Complex.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation and other departments are completing the necessary formalities to take on board the new Covid-19 warriors.