Amid the rising cases of Coronavirus in the state, the Maharashtra government has announced to impose complete lockdown across the state on the weekends. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a high-level meeting with government officials and health experts to discuss strict restrictions in order to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
Post-meeting, the Maharashtra cabinet decided to impose a complete lockdown starting from 8 PM on Friday, which will remain in effect till 7 AM on Monday. During the Coronavirus-induced lockdown, only essential services will be permitted. Meanwhile, section 144 and night curfew will be imposed on the regular weekdays.
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Sources aware of the development stated that cinema halls, parks, museums, and all the religious places will remain closed for public gatherings. Restaurants too will remain shut however, the eateries are permitted for take away and parcel services. For offices, employees will have to work from home.
On Saturday, state Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad had announced that all students across Maharashtra State from Class 1 to 8 would be promoted to the next class without any final examination. A decision regarding students of class 9th and 11th is yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra board examination for classes 10 and 12 will be held as per schedule in offline mode. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government has insisted that all possible precautions would be taken by the board to conduct the examinations in a safe and secure manner.
The strict resprections have as Maharashtra on Saturday reported 49,447 fresh COVID-19 cases and 277 fatalities, the highest single-day spike so far. With this, state tally was pushed to 29,53,523 while death toll stood at 55,656. The state's capital city Mumbai also registered 9,108 new infections, the highest surge in a single day.