Maharashtra extends lockdown-like curbs till May 31 to tackle COVID-19 crisis

The Uddhav Thackeray government has once again extended lockdown-like restrictions imposed in Maharashtra to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as cases have started to decline in many districts of the state. The restrictions will now remain in place till May 31.

Maharashtra had restricted public movement and several other activities across the state in April as the state became a hotbed of COVID-19 cases amid the second wave of the pandemic. The restrictions were supposed to end at 7 am on May 1 they were extended till May 15 in light of rising cases.

In its Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, the state government decided to continue the ongoing restrictions till the end of this month. All existing curbs will remain imposed during this period, which means non-essential establishments, private offices and shops selling other than essential goods will be closed in the state. The government has prohibited inter-city and inter-district travel and announced the closure of non-essential services across the state.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said if the restrictions are lifted, the situation may go out of hand. He added that the government is preparing to tackle the third wave and is planning to ramp up bed capacity, availability of Remdesivir injections, and self-sufficiency in oxygen through Mission Oxygen. The government is also increasing the pace of COVID-19 vaccination, he added.

Maharashtra’s Coronavirus tally crosses 52 lakh

On Wednesday, May 12, Maharashtra recorded 46,781  novel coronavirus cases taking the state's COVID-19 tally to 52,26,710. At present, there are 5,46,129 active cases in the state. With 58,805 COVID-19 patients discharged in the day, the number of recovered soared to 46,00,196. The death toll stands at 78,007, with 816 deaths reported in the day. 

So far, 3,01,00,958 samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in labs operational across the state. While 36,13,000 persons are under home quarantine, 29,417 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centers. The COVID-19 positivity rate, recovery rate, and fatality rate in Maharashtra stand at 17.36 per cent, 88.01 per cent and 1.49 per cent respectively.