As COVID-19 cases surge, several districts in Maharashtra gear up for lockdown

Mumbai, Feb 19: The district administration of Yavatmal in Maharashtra has ordered a 10 day lockdown from Thursday night. On the other hand, the Amaravati district administration declared a weekend lockdown from 8 pm on Saturday to 7 am on Monday amidst the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Markets and other establishments will remain shut, but essential services will remain unaffected. The district collector of Yavatmal, M D Singh said that the number of coronavirus cases in the district has been increasing since February 1 and as of Wednesday, the district had 606 active cases. Almost 80 to 90 per cent of the new cases were being reported from Yavatmal, Pandharkawda and Pusad cities, Singh also said. He also said that they had decided to conduct 500 tests per day Yavatmal, Pandharkawda and Pusad municipal corporations.

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The collector of Amravati, Shailesh Naval said that all establishments including hotels and restaurants would stay open only till 8 pm as opposed to the earlier timing of 10 pm on weekdays. "In view of a spurt in COVID-19 cases, I have decided to impose a weekend lockdown in the district. To avoid any stricter lockdown in the future, I appeal to people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour," he also said.

Swimming pools and indoor games too would remain closed. Only five people will be allowed at religious ceremonies, he also added.

In the highest one day count in more than two months, Maharashtra reported 4,787 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.