Lockdown extended in Maharashtra, Gujarat cities as COVID-19 cases surge again

As Maharashtra and Gujarat witness a massive surge in coronavirus cases in the past few days a decision to impose lockdown in some districts has been taken. On Friday, Gujarat reported 460 new cases while Maharashtra registered 8,333 fresh coronavirus cases.

Image used for representational purpose

New Delhi: As Maharashtra and Gujarat witness a massive surge in coronavirus cases in the past few days a decision to impose and extend lockdown in some districts of the respective states were taken after the governments issued repeated warnings to the public which fell in vain.

On Friday, Gujarat reported 460 new cases while Maharashtra registered 8,333 fresh coronavirus cases of which Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Amravati accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the cases.

Lockdown in some Maharashtra cities extended

In Amravati and Achalpur cities, lockdown was extended for a week in view of the coronavirus situation, while restrictions were also imposed for the weekend in Nagpur, Buldhana and Yavatmal. Adjoining Achalpur, Anjangaon Surji town will also remain under lockdown till 6 am on March 8.

Maharashtra energy minister Dr Nitin Raut warned that tougher steps will be imposed if surge in cases did not come under control. "Saving people's lives is our duty and we are ready to initiate all necessary steps for it," he told PTI.

Night Curfew in Gujarat extended

The Gujarat government has extended the night curfew in four major cities Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot by another 15 days, the curfew was supposed to end on February 28.

The Vijay Rupani-led government decided to extend the night curfew by another two weeks in view of the recent rise in coronavirus cases in these four municipal corporations, an official statement issued on Friday night read.

This is the fifth such extension of the night curfew, which had first came into force in November 2020 after a rise in COVID-19 cases post-Diwali.

Madhya Pradesh considering lockdown amid surge in COVID-19 cases

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan warned citizens that night curfew might be reimposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 and urged people not to travel to Maharashtra. His warning has triggered speculation around the possibility of a lockdown being reimposed due to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.  

“I appeal to people, that if possible, they should avoid visiting Maharashtra where coronavirus is spreading fast, especially those living in border districts,” Chouhan said in his address to the people of the state.

Chauhan advised labourers to avoid going to districts of Maharashtra bordering Madhya Pradesh in search of work in view of the COVID-19 situation in the neighbouring state and said they will get jobs under MGNREGA in their native places.

Here's what is open and what will remain closed in Maharashtra

During the lockdown only the shops selling essential commodities will remain open. All other shops have been ordered to remain shut.

The lockdown also forced the educational institutions, coaching classes, training schools to remain shut until March 8.

Public places like cinema halls, gyms, swimming pools, parks have been ordered to remain shut and gatherings for entertainment, educational, cultural, religious purposes are not permitted in the district. Hotels in these districts cannot operate beyond 9 pm. 

Meanwhile, India registered a single-day spike of more than 16,000 COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row on Saturday, while the death toll rose to 1,56,938 with 113 new fatalities, showed the data updated at 8 am on Saturday.