Maharashtra: Groceries, vegetable shops to be open only between 7-11 am, home delivery allowed from 7 am-8 pm

Photo used for representational purpose

Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases across the state, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued an order stating that groceries, vegetable shops, dairies to be open only between 7 am -11 am, home delivery will be allowed from 7 am - 8 pm.

The order states:

• All groceries, vegetable shops, fruit vendors, dairies, bakeries, confectionaries, all type of food shops (including chicken, mutton, poultry, fish and eggs), shops related to agricultural implements and farm produce, pet food shops, shops related to materials for impending rainy season for individuals as well as for organisations to be open only between 7 am to 11 am.
• Home delivery from the said shops however will be allowed between 7 am to 8 pm. These timings however may be changed by the local authority.
• The local Disaster Management Authorities to include any additional entities/ services as essential under Section (2) only after the consent of the State Disaster Management Authority.

The following directions will remain in force from 8 pm on Tuesday till 7 am on May 1.

After registering a sharp spike in daily COVID-19 cases for the past two days, the state saw a dip and recorded less than 60,000 infections on Monday. The city continues to register cases below 10,000. However, COVID deaths in Maharashtra continue to be above 300, while the city saw 58 fatalities over the past 24 hours.

The state recorded 58,924 fresh cases taking the total tally to 38.98 lakh. However, the state saw 351 COVID-related deaths, taking the toll to 60,824.

Mumbai reported 7,381 fresh cases, whereas the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) saw 15,623 infections on Monday. The Thane Municipal Corporation area, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan-Dombivli Corporation area recorded 1,335, 879 and 1,640 cases respectively, in the MMR.

The state's recovery rate stands at 81.04 per cent with 52,412 patients discharged on Monday. The state has a total of 67,65,20 active cases. Meanwhile, a total of 2.40 crore laboratory samples have been collected till date since March 2020, out of which 38.98 lakh have tested positive with a 16.19 per cent positivity rate.

Mumbai's recovery rate now stands at 83 per cent while the doubling rate is 47 days, both of which have been improving since last week, said a civic official.