Maharashtra government to impose night curfews from Sunday

Mumbai: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray informed that the state would impose night curfews from Sunday following a surge in Covid-19 cases in the state. District authorities may impose district wise lockdowns, but there would be no sudden state-wide lockdown without prior notice, he added.

"I do not wish to impose lockdown. But there seems a possibility of healthcare facilities falling short given the rise in the number of coronavirus patients," Mr Thackeray said, as quoted in a statement released by his office. He has also instructed officials to ensure the availability of hospitals beds and medicines, the statement added.

35,952 coronavirus infections were reported on Thursday, the highest one-day toll in the state since the onset of the pandemic. Over a lakh cases have been reported in the last four days in the state. The state has also reported a new variant of the coronavirus known as the 'double mutant'.

However, the slew of festivals up in the coming days has increased concerns. The state has already issued guidelines for the celebration of Holi, Rang Panchami, Good Friday and Easter. "No religious programme that can attract crowd in any way should be organised. Besides, procession should not be taken out," the government-issued statement said.

Thackeray also warned of stricter restrictions in case of failure to adhere to COVID-19 safety precautions. "All officials, medical experts and people who attended this meeting are of the opinion that if number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise, then we won't have any option but to go for a strict lockdown again," said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, as quoted by India Today.