Seven-day lockdown in Kolhapur from Monday

KOLHAPUR: Entire Kolhapur district will go under lockdown from Sunday midnight for for seven days, till July 26, in view of the rapid rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, district guardian minister Satej Patil said on Friday.
More than 200 new cases, highest in three months, were reported from the district in the last 24 hours, prompting political leaders and officials to hold a meeting and decide on enforcing a lockdown to arrest the spread of the disease.
Officials said that more than 50 patients tested positive in Kolhapur city alone.
“Details on the restrictions during the lockdown period will be announced on Saturday,” said officials, adding that only milk and health related activities will be allowed.
Satej Patil, who was reluctant on imposing lockdown due to its economic impact, convened a meeting of all-party leaders and elected representatives Friday morning. It was followed by another meeting of officials, when the formal decision was taken.
Majority of leaders and representatives of various organisations pushed for a lockdown in Kolhapur district on the lines other districts like Satara and Solapur.
Sources said that Patil was under pressure to decide on the lockdown as Friday recorded the highest number of patients.
Patil said that all the leaders insisted on lockdown as the number of patients was increasing despite steps being taken by the administration. He appealed to people to cooperate with the authorities during the lockdown period.
According to official information, 203 people tested positive for Covid-19 till Friday evening. This is the first time the district crossed the 200-mark in a single day. Officials fear that the number of patients will increase as more reports are yet to come.
Officials said that around 600 patients have tested positive in the district in the past few days and that there are more than 900 active patients.
Meanwhile, Ichalkaranji recorded 87 new cases till Friday evening while a woman succumbed to the contagion. The total count in the powerloom city has gone up to 285 patients, 205 of whome are being treated currently.