COVID-19: Maharashtra extends lockdown-like curbs beyond June 1

Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope Friday said that the lockdown-like restrictions in Maharashtra are extended for the next two weeks, news agency PTI reported. A fresh set of guidelines will be issued on June 1, he told. No relaxation will be given in the areas where the number of patients and positivity rate are still high and hospital bed availability is an issue, he said. “But in the areas where the situation has improved, certain guidelines (easing the curbs) can be issued,” he added. Mumbai city on Friday reported 929 new cases of Covid-19 and 30 deaths. The death toll in Mumbai has now reached 14,808.

Earlier this month, the Thackeray-led Maharashtra government extended the lockdown-like restrictions in the state till June 1 to break the chain of COVID-19. The recovery rate in the state has reached 93%. In yesterday's Cabinet meeting it was discussed that lockdown should be extended for 15 days but relaxations can be given in districts where cases have gone down.Earlier several reports had claimed that the Maharashtra government would lift the restrictions in a phased manner owing to the decline in Covid cases and positivity rate in the state. Tope, himself had dropped a big hint, saying that if all matters are positive, then the chief minister and deputy chief minister, in consultation with the experts of the task force, can decide on the “relaxation of the restrictions to some extent. Don’t be under the illusion that restrictions will be completely removed.”