Night curfew in Maharashtra from Sunday amid COVID-19 spike
In light of the recent spike in coronavirus infections in Maharashtra, the state government on Friday announced a night curfew starting Sunday (March 28). Notably, Maharashtra is India's worst-hit state in terms of the absolute number of cases, the absolute number of deaths, the number of active infections, and the rate of rise in infections. Here are more details.
CM decided to impose night curfew after meeting district magistrates
The decision was taken by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after he held a meeting with district magistrates over the COVID-19 situation in the state. The CM's office said in a statement, "Night curfew to be imposed in Maharashtra from the night of 28 March. A separate order in this regard will be issued by the Disaster management and rehabilitation department soon."
Malls to remain shut from 8 pm to 7 am
According to guidelines for the state-wide night curfew, all malls will remain closed from 8 pm to 7 am in Maharashtra. Thackeray has directed all authorities to "strictly enforce" the night curfew rules in an attempt to contain COVID-19 transmission in the state. In the worst-affected towns of Nanded and Beed, the local government has imposed a full lockdown for ten days.
'Danger from coronavirus not over; it has increased'
Thackeray warned that the danger from coronavirus is not over and has instead increased. "District collectors can impose lockdown depending on the local situation. But they will have to give sufficient time to the people beforehand," he said. Thackeray advised districts to look into the availability of health facilities, adding that he does not wish to impose a full lockdown.
How bad is the outbreak in Maharashtra?
On Thursday, the latest available COVID-19 update, Maharashtra reported 35,952 new cases and 111 fresh fatalities. Infections in the state have spiked since late-February, reaching a record single-day high on Thursday. As many as 1,53,447 people were tested on the day. The total number of cases has reached 26,00,833, which includes 53,795 deaths, 2,62,685 active cases, and 22,83,037 recoveries.
