The state of Maharashtra will enact a night curfew starting Sunday, according to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s office, as the state grapples with the pandemic’s largest increase in coronavirus infections since the outbreak began. According to the decision, shopping centres will be closed from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.
If citizens do not obey COVID-19 protection guidelines, Mr Thackeray warned of tighter controls. He stated that district chiefs will determine when lockdowns are necessary, but that there will be no sudden state-wide lockout and that the public will be notified in advance.
I don’t want to put you in lockdown. However, with the increase in the number of coronavirus patients, there seems to be a risk of healthcare facilities falling short,” Mr Thackeray was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office.
According to the statement, he demanded that sufficient hospital beds and medications be made available.
On Thursday, Maharashtra reported 35,952 coronavirus infections, the most in a single day since the pandemic started. In just four days, the state has added over one lakh new events.
Following a near-full reopening of the economy and disregard for protective precautions such as wearing face masks and social distancing, cases have risen in many states since late February, according to health authorities.
More than half of the new infections were registered in Maharashtra, which is home to Mumbai, India’s financial hub, where millions of people have returned to work in offices and factories.
Following a cabinet meeting, the local government placed a ten-day absolute lockout in the worst-affected towns of Nanded and Beed.
It was proposed that instead of enforcing lockdowns across the state, local administrations be permitted to enforce localised lockdowns,” a senior government official who declined to be identified said, responding to comments made during the conference.
In Maharashtra, a new virus mutation known as a “double mutant” has been identified, raising more concerns about the outbreak.
India has the third-highest total case load, after the United States and Brazil, with 1.18 crore cases. Data revealed that the country reported 251 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,60,692.
In the run-up to the Holi festival this weekend, businesses have been requesting governments to relax restrictions. According to state police, restrictions in Nagpur, Maharashtra, have been lifted, and huge crowds have been seen in shopping areas.
“It’s a Catch-22 situation,” police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told Reuters, “where shop closures have caused a lot of hardship for merchants and residents, but on the other hand, COVID is expanding.”
