Amid Covid Spike Maharashtra Announces Weekend Lockdown, Night Curfew

MUMBAI: In view of the rising Covid cases the Government of Maharashtra has announced new restrictions on Sunday which includes night curfews and weekend lockdowns.

Maharashtra remains the worst hit-state which has witnessed the biggest-ever spike in Covid-19 cases with 57,074 fresh infections in the last 24 hours.

As per the new restrictions a 'strict lockdown' has been imposed over the weekends from Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 am. The rules that came into effect from April 5, include a curfew from 8 pm to 7 am; and a ban on gatherings of five or more people throughout the day.

This comes after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Friday said he could not rule out a second lockdown to combat the spike in coronavirus cases in the state. He further held a cabinet meeting on Saturday to discuss the situation, following which the new restrictions was imposed in the state.

Essential and medical services are exempt from the lockdown.

As per the new guidelines issued by the state government eateries will be open only for take-aways and parcels and shops providing essential services, including those inside malls are allowed to operate. While government offices will be allowed to function with only 50 per cent staff, private ones have been asked to shift to the work-from-home model.

Religious places, gymnasiums, amusement parks, indoor sports complexes, parks, playgrounds, beaches, salons and beauty parlours will remain closed to avoid crowding during the day.

No new restrictions have been placed on flights and trains, but public transport will run at 50 per cent capacity and violators will be fined.

As per the centre, eight of the top 10 worst-affected districts in India are from Maharashtra.

Following a high-level meeting on Sunday, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi it was said that central teams comprising public health specialists and clinicians will be sent to Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh because of the high number of cases and a disproportionate number of deaths.

Meanwhile, India crossed the one lakh-mark in daily Covid-19 cases for the first time ever as the country's tally surged to 1,25,89,067 total infections after a spike of 1,03,558 fresh cases, the government data this morning showed.

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