Delhi and Maharashtra rule out extending lockdown

TALLY CROSSES 300,000 MARK; MAHARASHTRA ACCOUNTS FOR 1/3RD OF CASES

Delhi and Maharashtra state governments have ruled out extending the lockdown imposed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus), as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India crossed 300,00 mark after Maharashtra recorded 3,493 fresh infections yesterday. Maharashtra, the epicentre of the country’s virus outbreak, now accounts for one-third of the country’s overall cases.

The Delhi chief minister’s office has clarified that the lockdown in the state will not be extended and also appealed people to avoid crowding in order to halt the spread of coronavirus. Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the lockdown will not be extended.

Spike in cases

The Maharashtra chief minister’s office (CMO) clarified that the lockdown in the state will not be extended and also appealed people to avoid crowding in order to halt the spread of coronavirus. The lockdown is imposed in the state until June 30.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs clarified that while the movement of people would remain prohibited across the country from 9 pm to 5 am during the ongoing ‘Unlock 1’, there will be no restrictions on plying of buses with passengers and goods trucks on highways.

In a communication to all states, Union Home Secretary

Ajay Bhalla said, “The restriction does not apply to instances of loading/unloading of goods; buses carrying persons; trucks and goods carriers plying on state and national highways; or persons travelling to their destinations after disembarking from buses, trains and flights.”

AP ■ People wait by the burning pyre of a relative who died of Covid-19, at a crematorium in New Delhi yesterday. The coronavirus pandemic is leaving morgues piling up with the dead.

AP ■ People in personal protective suits bury the body of their relative who died of Covid-19 at a cemetery in Delhi.