Maharashtra government has announced a complete lockdown across the state till May 1. As per the new curbs issued by the government, government offices should work with only 15 percent staff and Mumbai local train will ply only for people working in the emergency services, such as government offices or hospitals.
As per the fresh lockdown guidelines, only 25 people gathering will be allowed for marriages and the functions should be completed within 2 hours. Anyone flouting the guidelines will be fined Rs 50,000.
Private buses will be permitted to run with 50 percent capacity with no standing travelers, according to the government order. Private offices in the exempted category must also ensure 15 percent attendance.
Inter-district or inter-city travel will be permitted on the condition of performing essential service or in case of a medical emergency. Anyone flouting the order will be fined Rs 10,000.
The lockdown goes into effect in Maharashtra on Thursday 8 p.m. till 7 a.m. on May 1, 2021.
More details to follow.
COVID situation in Maharashtra
Maharashtra witnessed a new record figure of Covid-19 deaths even as the case tally crossed the staggering 4 million-mark on Wednesday along with a spike in the number of active cases, health officials said.
The state's fatalities jumped from the previous peak of 519 (April 20) to a new high of 568 on Wednesday, taking the state's overall death toll to 61,911, the worst in the country.
Dropping a little from the record high of 68,631 new cases notched on April 18, the state on Wednesday reported 67,468 fresh cases, taking its tally to 40,27,827 till date.
The situation worsened in Mumbai with a spike in new infections from 7,192 on Tuesday to 7,654, as the city's tally shot above the 6 lakh-mark to 601,713 till date, 17 days after it touched the highest single-day spike of 11,206 cases on April 4.
The number of fatalities in Mumbai zoomed to 62 on Wednesday, taking its overall death toll to 12,508, the highest for a single city in the country.
The Mumbai Circle - comprising Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts - reported 16,491 new cases on Wednesday, which is considerably lower than the peak of 19,953 (April 11), mounting its overall tally to 12,52,334, while 150 deaths in the past 24 hours took its death toll to 22,057.
Of the day's 568 total fatalities, Mumbai led the chart with 62 fatalities, followed by 51 in Raigad, 41 in Nagpur, 37 in Thane, 35 in Pune, 29 each in Nashik and Ahmednagar, 24 each in Nandurbar and Satara, 23 in Bhandara, 20 in Latur, 18 in Chandrapur, 17 each in Aurangabad and Osmanabad, 16 each in Jalgaon and Amravati, 13 in Nanded, 12 each in Sangli and Beed, 11 in Kolhapur, and 10 each in Sindhudurg and Buldhana -- in the higher range.
(Additional inputs from IANS)
