Mumbai: Due to a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in the state, Maharashtra government on Sunday decided enforce complete lockdown next weekend from 8 pm on Friday to 7 am on Monday.
- Except for essential services, everything else will remain closed from 8 pm to 7 am
- Theatres, drama theatres will be closed
- Parks and playgrounds will remain shut too.
- Additional restrictions on public transport.
- Taxi and personal vehicles will commute with 50 per cent seating capacity.
- Rs 500 fine will be imposed for not wearing masks.
- Industries and production sector, vegetable markets will function with Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs).
- For offices, employees will have to work from home. The detailed SOP will be released soon.
- Government offices will function at 50 per cent capacity.
- No crowding during movie shootings
- Restrictions on bars, cafes and restaurants.
- Religious places will have to follow strict COVID-19 norms.
The decision was announced after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray chaired a cabinet meeting virtually on Sunday, where the authorities and other ministers of the state took the stock of the COVID-19 situation. CM Thackeray on Friday also held meetings with bureaucrats and painted a grim picture of the situation. The Maharashtra Chief Minister had also warned of a lockdown if the situation did not improve.
Maharashtra on Saturday reported nearly 50,000 new cases- around 60 per cent of all cases reported from India. On the other side, a high-level meeting was chaired by, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. The PMO said that central teams comprising public health specialists and clinicians will be sent to Maharashtra and other badly-hit states.
