The Maharashtra government today extended the lockdown in the state till July 31. Municipalities have been empowered to decide on easing of curbs outside the containment zones.

The notification issued by the state government has given powers to local administration to order localised restrictions in areas where they feel cases are going up. Also, free travel between The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will be only for essential activities and office purpose.Long distance and non-essential travel will be restricted in the state

On Sunday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ruled out lifting the lockdown in the state as the risk of infection is not over.

Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state by the Covid-19 pandemic with a tally of almost 1.6 lakh out of which more than 74,000 cases are in Mumbai. Ten major cities, including Mumbai, continue to be in red zones with strict restrictions in place. More than 7,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the state so far. The infections in India inched closer to 5.5 lakh-mark with 19,459 new cases being reported in the last 24 hours.