Maharashtra announces stricter curbs, weekend lockdown amid Covid-19 spike

The Maharashtra government on Sunday announced stricter curbs and weekend lockdown due to a huge spike in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Announcing the stringent curbs, state minister Nawab Malik said that there will be complete lockdown on weekends, which will begin at 8pm on Fridays and continue till 7am on Mondays.

The government has also asked public transport to operate at 50 per cent of their capacity.

Malik said that there are no restrictions on opening of industrial units and markets.

"Only essential services will be permitted. Restaurants are permitted only for take away and parcel services. For offices, employees will have to work from home. A detailed SOP will be released soon," said minister Aslam Shaikh.

COVID-19

The number of Covid-19 cases have been increasing at an alarming rate in Maharashtra, the worst-hit state. On Saturday, the state recorded 49,447 new Covid-19 cases and 277 deaths in a 24-hour period, according to the state health department bulletin.

The active number of Covid cases in the state stands at 4,01,172. With the fresh fatalities in the last 24 hours, the Covid death toll has mounted to 55,656 in Maharashtra.

The condition of Maharashtra is most worrying. Corona infection is spreading rapidly in the state. Meanwhile, there is a shortage of oxygen in the hospitals of the state. Also, the price of oxygen cylinder is also increasing. The corona virus infection's positivity rate in the last days of March in the district was 43.8 percent. On Friday and Saturday, a total of 2214 oxygen beds were filled in the hospitals in the district.

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