Maharashtra extends lockdown till July 31

MUMBAI: Themaharashtragovernmentonmonday extended the coronavirus lockdown in the state till July 31 amid a steady rise in the coronavirus cases.

Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state by the COVID-19 pandemic with a tally of almost 1.6 lakh out of which more than 74,000 cases are in Mumbai.

Ten major cities, including Mumbai, continue to be in red zones with strict restrictions in place. More than 7,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the state so far.

On Sunday, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray ruled out lifting the lockdown in the state as the risk of infection is not over.

“There will be a spike in cases owing to relaxations in lockdown curbs,” the chief minister had warned.

As part of its efforts to ease restrictions under fourth phase of its Mission Begin Again, the Maharashtra government on Sunday allowed barbershops, salons and beauty parlours to reopen after more than three months of shutdown.

West Bengal is another state where chief minister Mamata Banerjee has extended the lockdown till July 31 to contain the spread of COVID-19.

After four stints of nationwide lockdown, the Centre said lockdown will be in place only in containment zones till June 30 and began opening the economy in a three-phased plan called Unlock 1.

Delhi, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have also recorded huge spikes in the coronavirus cases, putting enormous strain on the states’ facilities.

For most days in June, the state has been recording three-digit highs of deaths and since the past three days 5,000 plus figures of new patients, causing worries among the health officials.

The health department said of the total number of cases declared till date, 70,607 are ‘active cases’ (ill) Sunday - and this number is lower (favourable) vis-a-vis the number of patients cured, indicating a positive trend.

Of the total 156 fatalities declared Sunday, Mumbai alone notched 87 deaths - pulling up the city’s death toll from 4,284 to 4,371 now, while the number of COVID-19 positive patients here shot up by 1,287 cases to touch 75,539.