11,163 new COVID19 cases in Mumbai today; Maharashtra govt declares weekend lockdown

To control the spread of the corona disease, the state government has declared daily night curfew, strict weekend lockdown, closing down of restaurants and bars; home delivery and essential services to continue.

Gaon Connection
| Updated: April 4th, 2021

Maharashtra government decided to enforce a complete weekend lockdown and week day night curfew in the state. Pic: Internet

Mumbai has recorded a total of 11,163 new coronavirus cases today till 6 pm and 25 deaths. As corona cases rise across the state, the Maharashtra government today decided to enforce a complete weekend lockdown and week day night curfew in the state, which comes into effect from tomorrow, April 5. 

As per the new restrictions, a night curfew will be enforced across the state from 8 pm to 7 am (next morning).

Strict lockdown over the weekends from Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 pm. 

Malls, restaurants, bars and places of worship will be closed; home delivery/take-away and essential services will be allowed.

Private offices to ask employees to work from home. State government office and Mantralaya will function with 50 per cent staff. 

Public transport to run at 50 per cent capacity. 

No political gathering  and programmes allowed. 

If in any residential housing society, more than five COVID19 positive patients are detected then that society will be declared as a mini containment zone and outsiders will not be allowed in that society. 

Except for essential services, malls and markets will remain close till April 30. 

Garden, beaches and other public places will remain close from night 8.00 pm to morning 7.00 am across Maharashtra. 

Two days back, on April 2 evening, in his public address, the state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had referred to the possibility of “strict restrictions soon”. “I am giving an indication for a complete lockdown, but not announcing it formally. If things do not improve visibly in a couple of days and if no other solution is found, we will have to announce another lockdown like it is being done globally,” he had said. 

Also Read: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray warns of a lockdown in the state

“From 300-350 daily cases in January-end the number of patients in Mumbai has increased to 8,500… Then, the daily cases were around 24,000, and now it stands at about 43,000 as on 1st April. The number may cross 45,000 today,” the chief minister had said.

He went on to inform that 62 per cent of isolation beds and 48 per cent of ICU beds are occupied. Also, 25 per cent of beds with oxygen facilities and around 25 per cent of the beds with ventilators are occupied. The state government is trying to add more health infrastructure, but since the coronavirus cases are rising fast, the state may be out under a lockdown, he said on April 2. 

Yesterday the state education minister Varsha Gaikwad had announced that all students across Maharashtra state board from Class 1 to 8 would be promoted to the next class without any final examination. A decision regarding students of Class 9 and 11 is yet to be announced.

Also Read: Maharashtra to promote all state board students from Class 1 to 8 without exams; decision on Class 9 and 11 students soon

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting today on April 4 and directed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to send central teams consisting of public health specialists and clinicians to Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh in the backdrop of high COVID-19 case load and disproportionate number of deaths in these states. 

Modi noted that there is an alarming rate of growth of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country with 10 states contributing to more than 91 per cent of cases and deaths due to the highly infectious disease with the situation in Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh of “serious” concern.

Also Read: Maharashtra records its highest caseload of 47,913 new COVID19 cases; health infrastructure under heavy burden