Mannequins wearing masks shop in Pune’s Sadashiv Peth. (Express photo/Pavan Khengre)
Maharashtra Mumbai Coronavirus News Live Updates: Maharashtra, which has the maximum number of coronavirus cases in the country, has extended the lockdown till July 31. According to the latest guidelines issued on Monday, shopping, outdoor exercise and movement for all other non-essential activities have to be limited to neighbourhood areas. No such curbs were announced when such activities were first permitted from June 5 as part of the ‘Mission Begin Again’ initiative.
Non-essential markets, market areas and shops can stay open only until 5 pm in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and other hotspots. Malls and market complexes will remain shut. Since June 5, when the first phase of the Unlock began, a spike of 92,090 infections has been reported across the state, with Mumbai’s satellite cities and a few other tier-2 cities accounting for bulk of the increased case load.
“Maharashtra is threatened with the spread of Covid-19 virus and therefore to take certain emergency measures to prevent and contain the spread of the virus, it is expedient to extend the lockdown in the entire state till July 31, 2020,” said the notification, signed by Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta, for the revised guidelines issued on Monday. Maharashtra recorded 5,257 Covid-19 cases on Monday, taking its tally to 1,69,883.
Sanitisation work at Turbhe Naka slum area in Navi Mumbai (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)
The Centre on Monday issued guidelines for Unlock Phase II, beginning from July 1, with relaxations in night curfew, provision for more domestic flights and trains, and clearance for more than five people in a shop. However, schools, colleges and other educational institutions will remain closed till July 31, and Metro rail, multiplexes, gyms, swimming pools, bars and auditoriums will stay shut until further orders. (Read the full list of what is allowed, and what is not)
The movement of people after the unlockdown and increased testing by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) have led to more Covid-19 positive cases, which in turn has reduced the doubling rate of patients in the city to 18 days from 24 days.
The PMC has been carrying out Covid-19 test for all patients with suspected symptoms and their close contacts. The various measures taken by the civic administration had helped increase the doubling rate to 24 days on June 18. However, after 10 days, it dropped to 18 days on June 28. The percentage of confirmed cases to samples tested has also increased to 14.93 per cent with total testing so far of over 1.08 lakh and daily testing capacity increased to around 3,200 samples.
In order to avoid crowding of people, the Mumbai Police has urged people not to venture far from their homes. In a directive issued on Sunday, the cops said theu will seize all privately-owned vehicles that are found to have travelled beyond a 2-km radius from the houses of the owners for purposes other than going to office or availing medical services during emergencies. However, those travelling in private vehicles but are involved in essential services have been exempted from the rule.
As the country moves into the second phase of the Unlock, and the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh continues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 4 pm on Tuesday. His address will come two days after his monthly Mann ki Baat radio programme, during which he had reiterated the country’s commitment to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and had asked citizens to not be negligent as the economy reopened.
Welcome to the Indian Express live blog on coronavirus spread in Maharashtra. With nearly 1.7 lakh cases, the state has the maximum number of infections in the country followed by Delhi and Tamil Nadu. Follow this space to track the latest developments