Maharashtra announces night curfew from March 28, malls to close at 8 PM; 1st state to do so

New Delhi: Alarmed at the mushrooming rate of fresh Coronavirus cases in the state, Maharashtra government has announced night curfew across the state from the night of March 28.

Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Office (CMO) made the announcement to this effect. However, a separate order in this regard will be issued by the Disaster management and rehabilitation department soon.

Malls are directed to remain close from 8 pm to 7 am, said Maha CMO.

Lockdown in Maharashtra after April 2 meet?

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minsiter Ajit Pawar, today asked people to be cautious and vigilant else remain prepared for stricter measures.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday issued a lockdown warning and said that if situation doesn’t improve, the state may witness such measures.

“If the COVID-19 situation in the state does not improve, the state government could consider imposing a lockdown when it meets on April 2 to take stock of the situation,” Maharashtra Deputy CM told TimesNow.

The remarks came hours ahead of a scheduled meeting between Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and all state District Collectors to review the coronavirus situation in the state.

Maharashtra has been witnessing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases over the past few weeks with over 31,000 cases being recorded on Thursday.

Localised lockdowns have already been imposed in several areas of Maharashtra like Nagpur.

He also went on to warn people to strictly follow the social distancing norms in order to avoid a strict lockdown. “Else from next week, adversely affected areas will face a strict lockdown,” said Ajit Pawar.