COVID-19 surge in Pune: Night curfew from April 3; restaurants, malls, religious place shut for 7 days

Women wearing facemask walk along a street in Pune. Pic/AFP

Amid a steep spike in COVID-19 cases, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Friday ordered a 12-hour curfew starting at 6 am on April 3 for a period of one week.

"A 12-hour night curfew from 6 pm to 6 am in Pune has been imposed from tomorrow (April 3). The situation will be reviewed on next Friday," said Pune Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao.

Religious places, hotels and bars, shopping malls and movie theatres have also been directed to shut down for a week. PMC bus services will also be shut.

Only home deliveries and essential services will be allowed during this period.

"No public function, except funerals and weddings, will be allowed. Maximum 20 people are allowed in funerals and 50 in weddings. The order will come into effect from April 3," added Rao.

Pune district in Maharashtra reported as many as 8,011 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, which pushed its cumulative count to 5,42,422.

This is for the second consecutive day the district has recorded more than 8,000 cases.

On Wednesday, the district had reported 8,605 new infection cases, its biggest single-day spike ever since the pandemic began last year.

Its fatality count reached 10,039 as 65 patients succumbed to the infection during the day.

"Of the total number of new cases, 4,103 were reported from the areas located within the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits, where the caseload has gone up to 2,73,446," a health official said.

Pimpri Chinchwad, Pune city's neighbouring industrial township, reported 2,113 new cases, which pushed its overall count to 1,42,251.

A total of 2,077 patients were discharged from hospitals in the district, the official added.