Coronavirus: Maharashtra extends Covid-19 lockdown restrictions till January end; details

The Maharashtra government has extended the lockdown restrictions by another month (till January 31, 2021) in the state to contain the spread of Coronavirus. Previously the state government had imposed the Covid-19 related restrictions till December 31, 2020. However, in view of the emergence of a new strain of Coronavirus in the United Kingdom and substantial number of cases being reported every day in the state, the government has chosen not to lower the guard. Instructions were also issued to the various government departments and officials in the state about the extension of the Covid-related restrictions for another month, news agency ANI reported.

The letter signed by the state chief secretary Sanjay Kumar mentioned that the state government thought it is expedient to extend the lockdown restrictions in the state of Maharashtra further till January 31st, 2021. The order also made it clear that the activities which have previously been permitted to resume their operations by the government in its previous orders will continue to operate in the state. On the verge of the central government’s Unlock Mission, the state government of Maharashtra had also set off Mission Begin Again under which activities that were closed during the Covid-19 lockdown were allowed to reopen in a phased manner.

The state of Maharashtra, which has borne a major brunt of the Coronavirus pandemic, has been registering a decline in the number of new cases since the last month. The state has been registering less than 5,000 cases a day since the last 24 days. The total number of cases of Coronavirus in the state has crossed the 19-lakh mark on Monday. The number of Coronavirus-related casualties in the state is also on the verge of crossing the 50,000-mark with a total of 49,305 deaths related to Coronavirus reported in the state so far with an addition of 50 more deaths on Monday.