In response to an unprecedented increase in Covid incidents, authorities in Maharashtra’s Pune have imposed a 12-hour curfew beginning at 6 a.m. tomorrow for at least one week, with a review of the corona situation scheduled for next Friday.
Religious institutions, hotels and restaurants, shopping malls, and movie theatres will all be closed for the next seven days, according to Pune Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao on Friday afternoon.
During this time, only home delivery of food, medications, and other vital resources would be permitted.
As a result of a recent outbreak of diseases, Pune is among the worst-affected areas in India.
Authorities in Pune reported 8,011 new coronavirus cases late Thursday night, bringing the overall caseload to nearly 5.5 lakh. This was the second 24-hour cycle in a row in which Pune registered over 8,000 new cases.
The district reported 8,605 new cases on Wednesday, the largest single-day surge since the pandemic started in December 2019.
“Of the total number of new cases registered, 4,103 were reported from areas within the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) boundaries, where the caseload has increased to 2,73,446,” officials said.
Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol has ordered private hospitals to reserve 80% of their beds for COVID-19 patients.
“There is actually no valid justification to enforce lockout. Instead, testing, tracing, and vaccine drives must be expanded, which we are already doing “He said. The Mayor, on the other hand, cautioned that if the increase is not brought under control quickly, tougher measures, including a lockdown, could be enforced.
Aside from Pune, the state capital of Mumbai has seen an alarming increase in Covid incidents.
The city has 8,646 new cases on Thursday, the most in a 24-hour cycle. Mumbai authorities have also increased efforts to monitor the virus’s dissemination, including random Covid checks on people in public places such as malls and bus stations.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, like her Pune counterpart, is reluctant to re-impose a city-wide curfew, but has cautioned that “any stern steps will have to be taken.”
“No one wants lockdown, but given the rate at which cases are increasing and putting strain on the health-care system, certain stringent interventions will have to be implemented,” she added.
43,000 new cases in 24 hours on Thursday night were reported in the states of Maharashtra
