Maharashtra imposes strict lockdown once again in Mumbai and Pune -

New Delhi: On Tuesday, 552 new cases of the Novel Coronavirus were reported from the state of Maharashtra, taking the total number of cases here to 5,218. About 419 new cases were reported from Mumbai alone. The number of infections in Pune has risen to 754 as well. The restrictions of the lockdown were relaxed in certain areas classified under the green and orange zones on Monday. Certain concessions were even declared for Mumbai and Pune, both of which are classified as red zones on the same day. However, the citizens were crowding in the city and vehicles were also seen on the roads in large numbers. Considering the possibility of an increase in transmission due to crowding the state government was forced to withdraw the concessions given in cities of Mumbai and Pune.

The highest number of cases from Maharashtra were reported from Mumbai and Pune. The Home and Health Ministry had thus expressed concerns regarding the rising infections and also the increasing violation of lockdown. The Home Ministry said that the threat of transmission of the virus increases manifold if the lockdown is not followed meticulously. Furthermore, an announcement to send a unit from the centre also had been made. This unit arrived in the state on Monday night. The state government then decided to withdraw all the announced concessions and reimpose the lockdown.

In both the cities, which are the financial centres of the state, selected businesses and trade establishments had been permitted to operate, other than the shops selling essential items. The e-commerce companies had been granted permissions also for the movement of electronic goods. Nevertheless, the ordinance issued on Monday has now been modified.

The lockdown in Mumbai and Pune henceforth is indicated to become more severe. The number of containment zones, after the discovery of Coronavirus infections, has gone up to 813. On 9th April, the number of containment zones was only 381. Besides, new cases are being reported from Dharavi and Worli on a regular basis, and the number of cases has reached 180 in Dharavi. All the shops in the areas under the jurisdiction of ten Pune Police stations, where people are testing positive for Coronavirus, will remain closed and permission has been granted only for milk distribution in the morning.

Meanwhile, the Coronavirus deaths in the country have reached 603 while 44 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of Coronavirus cases in the country has now climbed to 19,000.