The Maharashtra government on Wednesday extended the coronavirus-induced lockdown till August 31 in view of the rising cases. Maharashtra crossed the four-lakh mark with Pune emerging as one of the worst-affected cities after Mumbai.
As part of the ‘Mission Begin Again’, the Uddhav Thackeray government has relaxed several outdoor activities in areas that are out of containment zones, including Greater Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur.
Here’s what will be open and what not in Maharashtra for August:
1. The Maharashtra government has allowed outdoor activities including non-team sports like golf, outdoor firing range, outdoor gymnastics, tennis, outdoor badminton and malkhamb. Thorough sanitisation measures and physical distancing is to be ensured in these places.
2. Swimming pools will remain closed in August or until further orders.
3. All essential and non-essential shops will continue to function and malls and market areas will remain open from 9 AM to 7 PM.
4. All offices – government and private – can reopen. Private offices are to operate with 10 per cent strength only.
5. Barber shops,spas, saloons and beauty parlours to be open with preventive measures as ordered by the government.
6. Restaurants, food courts and theatres to remain shut.
7. Large public gatherings and congregations continue to remain prohibited. Marriage-related gatherings can have only up to 50 guests.
8. Printing and distribution of newspapers allowed.
9. Inter-district movement will be unrestricted only for attending places of work and for medical reasons. For shopping and other purposes, people are expected to visit nearby areas.
10. Vehicular movement to be allowed as follows:
> Taxi/cab aggregator – 1+3 (essential only)
> Rickshaw – 1+2 (essential only)
> 4 wheeler – 1+3 (essential only)
> 2 wheeler – 1+1 with helmet and mask
With 9,211 new patients being detected, the number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra on Wednesday crossed the four lakh-mark.
While the case count in the state reached 4,00,651, death toll due to the pandemic went up to 14,463 with 298 patients dying, 60 of them in Mumbai, during the day, said health minister Rajesh Tope.
7,478 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered cases in the state to 2,39,755.
Maharashtra has now 1,46,129 active cases.
A total of 20,16,234 people have been tested so far in the state, the health department said in a statement.
The Mumbai city and suburban areas reported 1,109 and 3,324 fresh cases of COVID-19, respectively. The case count in the state's capital, thus, is 1,11,991 and death toll 6,247.