COVID-19: Maharashtra extends lockdown till August 31, malls can reopen

Malls have been closed for over three months due to the lockdown. File pic

Government of Maharashtra has issued directions to extend the lockdown, with amendments, to operationalize 'Mission Begin Again' for easing of restrictions and phase-wise opening, till August 31, 2020. The development came hours after the Central government released guidelines for 'Unlock 3.0'.

In Municipal Corporations of Mumbai Metropolitan Area, including Greater Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur: Malls and market complexes to be operational from 9 am to 7 pm from August 5, but without theatres, food courts and restaurants," the statement said.

"Whereas in the exercise of the powers, conferred under the Disaster Management Act 2005, the undersigned, in his capacity as Chairperson, State Executive Committee has issued an order dated June 29, 2020, to extend the lockdown measures up to July 31, 2020, and issued revised consolidated guidelines from time to time vide above-mentioned orders to contain the spread of COVID-19," stated Sanjay Kumar, Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra.

Outdoor non-team sports like Golf courses, outdoor firing range, outdoor gymnastics, tennis, outdoor badminton, and malkhamb will be allowed with physical distancing and sanitation measures from August 5. Swimming pools will not be allowed to operate, Government of Maharashtra informed.

Maharashtra's Covid-19 cases on Wednesday surpassed the 4-lakh figure, while the state recorded the highest number of deaths (298) for the second time in one week, health officials said.

After a lull of five days, the state notched 9,211 new COVID-19 cases, considerably up from the 7,000 range seen in later July, but still down from the highest-ever tally of 10,576 on July 22.

With the fresh fatalities, the death toll went up to 14,463, while the total cases reached 400,651 - both highest in the country.

Maharashtra has so far reported 1,44,998 active cases so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever