In the midst of rising cases of COVID-19 in the state, the Amravati district in Maharashtra will be put under lockdown for a week. Yashomati Thakur, Minister of Cabinet, said the lockdown would kick in from Monday evening.
During the strict seven-day lockdown, the government said only critical services would be permitted to operate.
If people do not obey safety laws, the lockdown will be extended, the minister said, adding that the decision to stop all non-essential operation was taken after cases of COVID-19 continued to rise in Maharashtra.
The announcement for the lockdown in Amravati comes hours after the district administration in Pune shut down schools and coaching centres till February 28. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met with senior officials to assess the COVID-19 situation in the district before taking the decision.
Earlier today, Maharashtra minister Vijay Wadettiwar said they are considering night curfew and a decision would be taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Coronavirus cases are rising in Nagpur, Akola, Amaravati, Yavatmal, Mumbai and Pune. We have asked the district administration to take a call on lockdown or other restrictions after assessing the situation on the ground,” Mr Wadettiwar said.
The State Health Department on Saturday said 6,281 new COVID-19 cases and 40 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The total cases in the state rose to 20,93,913 including 48,439 active ones and 19,92,530 total recoveries. Some 51,753 have died due to COVID-19.
