In Maharashtra's Unlock 5 phase, restaurants & bars to restart dine-in services from Oct 5

On Wednesday, the Maharashtra government extended the lockdown in the entire state until October 31 besides easing the restrictions as part of Mission Begin Again. In the Unlock 5 phase, the state government has allowed hotels, restaurants, food courts and bars to restart their dine-in services from October 5 with a maximum of 50% capacity. Meanwhile, all trains originating and ending their journey within the state shall be restarted with immediate effect. 

In a big boost for the dabbawallas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, they have been permitted to travel in local trains after procuring QR codes from the Mumbai Police Commissioner's Office. The state government has once again stressed the use of face coverings, social distancing, following the practice of Work From Home as far as possible and staggering the work hours. Legal action can be taken against persons violating the containment measures as per the provisions of Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act and Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. 

List of relaxations: 

• All activities already permitted as per earlier orders
• Dine-in services at hotels, restaurants, food courts, and bars to re-start from October 5 with a maximum of 50% capacity
• Free movement of oxygen-carrying vehicles within and out of the state without any restriction on timings
• Railways to increase the frequency of local trains in MMR. Dabbawallas can travel in these trains
• Local trains in Pune to be resumed as per the protocol followed in the MMR region
• All trains originating and ending their journey within the state shall be restarted
• All industrial and manufacturing units of non-essential items in the MMR region

Read: Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant Tests Positive For COVID-19

Prohibited activities:

• Schools, colleges and other educational institutions
• Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, gyms, auditoriums
• International air travel except as permitted by MHA
• Metro Rail
• All functions and large congregations
• Religious places for devotees

Read: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's Tally Crosses 62 Lakh; 10,86,688 Samples Tested In 24 Hr

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally soars to 13.66 lakh

On Tuesday, September 29,14,976 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Maharashtra. This propelled the state's COVID-19 tally to 13,66,129. At present, there are 2,60,363 active cases in the state. With 19,212 COVID-19 patients discharged in the day, the number of recovered soared to 10,69,159. 430 deaths were reported on Tuesday. 

Until now, a total of 36,181 persons have died owing to COVID-19. So far, 66,98,024 samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in labs operational across the state. While 21,35,496 persons are under home quarantine, 29,947 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. The COVID-19 positivity rate, recovery rate, and fatality rate in Maharashtra stands at 20.4%, 78.26%, and 2.65% respectively. 

Read: 5,000 Patients Discharged After Treatment From Delhi's Largest COVID Centre