Maharashtra Covid spike: Weeklong lockdown imposed in parts of 3 Vidarbha districts

“While Amravati and Akola are already under curfew from 5 pm on Saturday till 7 am on Monday, people can complete their essential works and purchases till 5 pm Monday. Thereafter, during the lockdown period, all shops, except those selling medicine, grocery, milk and vegetables, will remain closed. These shops will be allowed to operate only between 9 am and 5 pm. Public or private programmes, except marriages, well not be allowed,” Singh said.

Attendance will be restricted to 25 persons at marriages parties. Curbs on marriage attendance will also apply to the parts of the district outside the municipal limits of the containment zone.

The Amravati division has been recording over 1,000 infections daily over the past few days. On Sunday, the division saw 1,552 new cases with Amravati district leading the table with with 709 cases followed by Akola (342), Buldana (301), Washim (125) and Yavatmal (75). On death count, however, the division saw a dip with only six deaths on Sunday compared to 16 on Saturday.

Officials said a vast majority of these cases were asymptomatic and fatalities very low despite the spike in cases. The number of Covid-19 tests, too, has increased from about 1,200 per day three days ago to around 3,000 per day, officials added.

Public transportation has also been suspended between 5 am on February 23 and 5 am on March 1, while private vehicles have been allowed only for unavoidable journeys, like health check-up, hospitalisation or travel outside the city, Singh said.

Restaurants owners, both inside and outside containment zones, have been told to shut their premises, though home delivery services have been allowed.

“Offices will remain closed inside the containment zones and will operate with only 15 per cent attendance outside them. Religious places will also remain closed within the containment zones. Those outside the containment zones can remain open only between 9 am and 5 pm,” Singh told The Indian Express.

Schools and colleges in the Amravati division, comprising Washim and Yavatmal, besides the three districts, have not yet opened.

The non-containment zone restrictions have also been extended to Yavatmal and Washim districts. “In these districts, there are certain areas in the cities that have been declared containment zones. There, the restrictions of other containment zones will apply but outside those areas, the restrictions meant for non-containment zones will apply,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, Covid continues to surge in Nagpur and Wardha districts of the Nagpur division. On Sunday, Nagpur district recorded 625 cases and Wardha saw 153 new cases. Gadchiroli (7), Gondia (3), Bhandara (21) and Chandrapur (29) have remained relatively unaffected by the new spread. The Nagpur division saw 12 deaths with Nagpur recording eight fatalities.

As reported earlier, Amravati and Yavatmal samples have shown fast-spreading new mutants of coronavirus, called E484K and N440K.