Amid Covid spike, Maharashtra announces night curfew & weekend lockdown

April 4: The Maharashtra government has declared a night curfew from tomorrow (April 5) and a complete weekend lockdown on Friday night and to Monday (April 12) morning in all districts of Maharashtra to curb the incessantly rising coronavirus cases. Everything except essential services will be closed on weekends. The night curfew will be put in place from 8 pm to 7 am. Anyone breaking the rules will be fined 500 rupees, said government officials. The fresh curbs are expected to be in place till April-end, until further orders.

In order to mitigate the spread of the virus, Maharashtra Minister Aslam Shaikh said that in the coming days, there is a possibility of a lockdown-like situation on Saturdays and Sundays. “There will be a restriction on visiting open spaces including garden, beaches, Gateway of India and other places on weekends,” he added. 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. The detailed SOP will be released soon, informed Shaik.

Maharashtra reported nearly 50,000 new cases on Saturday – around 60 per cent of all cases reported from across the country on that day. On Friday the state reported around 48,000 cases. State capital Mumbai reported over 11,000 cases on Sunday – the most in a day since the pandemic began in December 2019. On Saturday, the city reported over 9,000 new cases.