Covid-19: Maha govt likely to release SOP by April 1

Maharashtra continues to report highest daily new COVID-19 cases with 31,643 in the last 24 hours, followed by Punjab and Karnataka. "Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 31,643. It is followed by Punjab with 2,868 while Karnataka reported 2,792 new cases," reads an official statement.

Due to the increasing number of COVID cases in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that the COVID cases are rising because people are not following guidelines seriously and that is why strict steps like lockdown need to be considered. 

At a meeting with senior health officials and COVID task force, CM Uddhav Thackeray instructed them to prepare for restrictions similar to lockdown if people continue to violate COVID-related rules.

However, the state government doesn't want the economy to be impacted, therefore it has asked the task force to prepare a plan for implementation of a lockdown that will have a minimum impact on the economy. The state government is expected to release a standard operating procedure (SOP) by April 1, Wednesday, with more restrictions for the people of the state.

The government is likely to reduce the timings of the shops, trains and buses to reduce overcrowding.