Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu Lockdown: Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu governments on Monday extended their state-wide lockdown till July 31 as coronavirus cases in the two cities touched a new high. Maharashtra’s cases touched 164,626, while there are 82,275 cases in Tamil Nadu.
Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Telangana have reported the maximum number of cases. An increase in the number of tests at a much faster pace is a key reason behind the quick rise in infections.
In Maharashtra, titled “Mission Begin Again”, the guidelines state movement for non-essential activities will be restricted within the neighbourhoods in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. An order issued by Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta said private offices can operate with up to 10 per cent strength or 10 people whichever is more.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Sunday ruled out lifting lockdown curbs completely beyond June 30, but said more relaxations would be offered to the people eventually.
The Mumbai Police on Sunday said it would will seize all privately-owned vehicles that are found to have travelled beyond a 2-km radius from the houses of the owners for purposes other than going to office or availing medical services during emergencies.
In Municipal Corporations of Region including Municipal Corporations of Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon. Akola, Amravati and Nagpur following activities are permitted with restrictions as specified in the Orders issued from time to time:-
The inter-district movement of persons within the area of Municipal Corporations under the MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) for the essential activities and the office purposes. For shopping purposes people are expected to use only nearby / neighbourhood markets only. Long distance travel for non-essential items will not be permitted.
In the rest of State except the areas covered in above A, all activities, which are not explicitly prohibited or banned, shall continue to be permitted, with restrictions as specified in the Orders issued from time to time:-
Besides Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Assam have reimposed lockdowns in some of their districts in order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Here are the other states which have announced the extension of lockdown:
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday extended the lockdown till July 31 in the state. The complete lockdown in force in Chennai, Madurai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts will continue till July 5. All Sundays in July (July 5, 12, 19 and 26) will be “complete lockdown” across the state.
’தமிழகத்தில் ஜூலை 31 வரை பொதுமுடக்கம் நீட்டிப்பு’
சென்னை காவல் எல்லை மற்றும் அதனை ஒட்டியுள்ள பகுதிகளில் ஜூலை 5 ஆம் தேதி வரை முழு முடக்கம் தொடரும்
– தமிழக அரசு.
— AIADMK (@AIADMKOfficial) June 29, 2020
The state will observe restrictions same as pre-June 19 lockdown. Intra-district public transportation has also been suspended from July 1 to July 15.
The Nagaland Cabinet Monday decided to extend the state’s existing lockdown to July 15 to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per an order signed by Chief Secretary Temjen Toy, the state’s existing lockdown guidelines “shall continue to remain operative in Nagaland till the 15th July 2020” in line with the order issued on 04.05.2020. However, the earlier order is subject to relaxations regarding the opening of religious places and plying of local taxis and auto-rickshaw in border sub-divisions. Of the 451 COVID-19 cases, 283 are active while 168 have recovered. No deaths have been reported so far.
The Meghalaya government on Monday ordered a lockdown in areas bordering Guwahati. “Government has decided that the locations in Meghalaya bordering Guwahati i.e Byrnihat, Jorabat till Khanapara will be under #lockdown due to the surge in #Covid_19 cases in #Assam. Inter-state movement continues to be restricted” said Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma in a tweet. As per an order from the DC of Ri Bhoi District, a total lockdown in some areas of the district has been enforced from 6 am, June 30 to 6 am, July 13. These include Byrnihat, Khanapara, Jorabat-Baridua, Ampatama, Umshry Sukhoinijira, Iwwmawroh, Bakhlapara, Hawla, Jimbrigaon, Lyngkhung, Patgaon, Umsen, Jyrmang, Bernongsai Nongkhlaw, Bernongsai Nongspung, Umsaliang, Gunapati, Mairapur, Nongkyllanf, Rani Jirang, Umshalani, Ranibari, Balakhawa, New Balakhawa, Bilpara, Halher, Akhoinijira, Garobhanga, and Ulubari.
The Assam government on Friday announced a stringent 14-day lockdown in Kamrup Metropolitan district — which includes Guwahati city — from Sunday evening. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said practically “nothing except pharmacies, laboratories and hospitals will remain open” from June 28 to July 12. Announcing the lockdown, Sarma said grocery and fruit-vegetable stores would not be allowed to open in Guwahati. While the first seven days would see the most stringent curbs, Sarma said they could consider certain relaxations after that, depending on the situation.
Last week, the West Bengal government extended lockdown with the current relaxations till July 31. The current spell of the lockdown was to end on June 30. Announcing the decision after presiding an all-party meeting, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “Many parties expressed different opinions on tackling the coronavirus pandemic… But we decided to extend the lockdown… We are saying that since the Covid-19 cases are increasing in the entire country, it is our responsibility to help improve the situation…”
The Jharkhand government extended the lockdown till July 31 to contain the spread of COVID-19. “Considering the seriousness of the situation, the state government has decided to extend the lockdown till July 31,” Chief Minister Hemant Soren said in a tweet. The extension order shall come into force with immediate effect, Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh said, adding that the movement of individuals shall continue to remain prohibited between 9 pm and 5 am.
The Manipur government Sunday decided to extend lockdown restrictions by another 15 days, from July 1 to 15, in the wake of a surge in the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) cases. The state has, however, decided to allow inter-district bus services from July 1, provided standard operating procedures and guidelines issued by the government are followed. No other public transport system will be allowed during this period, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said. Daily domestic flight service, which was limited to only one flight a day, would be increased to five from Monday, the Chief Minister said.