Lockdown has been extended in Maharashtra's Amravati and Achalpur till March 8 due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, Anjangaon Surji village has been declared a containment zone.
Earlier, a lockdown of seven days was imposed in Amravati and Achalpur on February 21. However, shops selling essential commodities were allowed to remain open from 8 am to 3 pm.
Earlier in the day, a curfew was announced in Yavatmal district from February 27 to March 1. "Curfew imposed in Yavatmal district from 5 pm on Saturday to 9 am on Monday, essential services will continue during this curfew," District Collector M Devender Singh said.
In Nagpur, schools, colleges, and coaching classes have been forced to remain shut till March 7. Nitin Raut, who is the guardian minister of Nagpur city, had said that main markets will remain shut on weekends. However, hotels and restaurants can run at 50 per cent capacity.
Of late, Maharashtra has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases. On Friday, Maharashtra reported more than 8,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the third day in a row. The state recorded 48 fatalities on Friday.
The caseload in the state thus rose to 21,38,154, while the death toll reached 52,041.
Four cities - Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Amaravati -- together accounted for 3,401 or 40 per cent of the new cases.
As many as 85,932 tests were conducted during the day, taking the tally of samples tested for coronavirus to 1,61,12,519.
As many as 2,688 persons are in institutional quarantine in the state.
Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases: 21,38,154, new cases: 8,333, death toll: 52,041, discharged: 20,17,303, active cases: 67,608, people tested so far: 1,61,12,519.
