Mumbai: Amidst fast increasing coronavirus cases, rise in vehicular traffic and people hitting the roads without wearing masks, the Maharashtra government was forced to further tighten the restrictions by extending the lockdown till midnight of July 31. The current lockdown was to end on June 30. In 10 districts – Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola, Amravati, Nagpur and Malegaon – there will be stringent restrictions.
State Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta in the notification said, ‘The state of Maharashtra is threatened by the spread of Covid-19 and therefore has to take certain emergency measures to prevent and contain the spread of coronavirus.’’ The lockdown extension order was issued on Monday when 5,257 Covid positive cases and 181 deaths were reported while the progressive cases surged to 169883 and 7610 deaths.
In containment zones, only essential activities will be allowed. No movement of people in and out of these zones will be allowed except for medical emergencies and maintaining the supply of essential goods. Intra-district bus service will be allowed with maximum 50% capacity per bus with physical distancing and sanitation measures. On the other hand, Inter-district movement will continue to be regulated.
So far, under the 'Mission Begin Again', markets, shops, vehicular traffic and suburban trains for essential services staff have started. However, movement of persons in Mumbai Metropolitan Region for the purposes of non-essential activities like shopping and the outdoor exercises shall be restricted within the neighbourhood area limits with all necessary prescribed mandatory precautions of wearing masks, social distancing and personal hygiene.
Private and government offices with restricted staff have also started operating. Private offices can function with 10% staff or 10 people whichever is more. All government offices (excluding emergency, health and medical, treasuries, disaster management, police, NIC, food and civil supply, FCI, NYK, municipal services) to function with 15% strength or 15 persons - whichever is higher.
Only those attending offices and emergencies will be allowed unrestricted movement, the government said.
All essential shops, e-commerce activity for essential and non-essential items, all industrial units which are presently operational and home delivery of food will be allowed. All essential and non-essential shops and markets, except malls and market complexes, will be allowed to open from 9 am to 5 pm.
According to the government, taxi /aggregated cabs will be allowed to operate (driver plus 2 passengers). Plumbers, electricians, motor garages (with prior appointment) will be allowed to work. Long-distance travel for non-essential services will not be permitted. Printing and door delivery of newspapers allowed. Barbershops were already operational from June 28.
Marriages, if any, can have a maximum of 50 guests. In regards to funerals, a maximum of 50 people can attend the last rites.
