Night curfew in Maharashtra from Sunday amid coronavirus surge

Further, malls have been directed to remain closed from 8 pm to 7 am, according to the chief minister's office

Amid rise in coronavirus infections, Maharashtra administration announced a night curfew in the state from Sunday night to prevent the spread of the virus and to avoid large gatherings.

Further, malls have been directed to remain closed from 8 pm to 7 am, according to an official statement from the chief minister's office.

"In view of the increasing number of corona infections in the state, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has instructed officials to impose a night curfew in the state from Sunday night (March 28)," the CM's office said.

"To avoid congestion, Thackeray also directed officials to implement some strict measures to curb growing infections and do it effectively," according to the statement.

The chief minister asked officials to ensure availability of adequate hospital beds and medicines and also warned of stricter restrictions if people did not adhere to Covid-19 safety protocols, it said.

A separate order in this regard will be issued by the disaster management and rehabilitation department soon, the CM's office noted.

Earlier during the day, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray chaired a meeting of all divisional commissioners, collectors, SPs, and senior doctors of district hospitals to review Covid-19 situation in the state, through video conference.

On Friday, Maharashtra recorded 36,902 coronavirus infections, the biggest single-day spike since the pandemic began last year. The state has added over 100,000 cases in just four days.

On Friday, Nagpur saw its highest every single-day spike in Covid-19 cases as 4,095 people were detected with the infection, while the day also saw 35 deaths and 1,943 people getting discharged.

The district's caseload now stands at 211,162, including 4,819 deaths, and a recovery count of 169,407 has left it with 36,936 active cases.