Mumbai:
Maharashtra government on Sunday extended the lockdown in the state till May 31, an official said.State Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta has issued an order notifying extension of the lockdown, the official said.
"The calibrated phase-wise relaxation/lifting of lockdown orders will be notified in due course," the order said.
The present lockdown was valid from May 2 to 17.
"Lockdown 3.0 ends today. Lockdown 4.0 will come into effect tomorrow and will be valid till May 31. There will be some relaxations in the fourth phase.The green and orange zones will get more relaxations, in terms of starting more services. As of now only essential services are operational, he said.
Maharashtra has recorded 30,706 COVID-19 cases of which 22,479 are active. The death toll is 1135, while 7,088 patients have been discharged after recovery.
While several states like Assam, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Punjab have recommended that the Centre should extend the lockdown to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), others like Delhi, Haryana, and Karnataka have suggested a gradual easing of restrictions.
Telangana was the first state in the country to extend lockdown till May 29. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had announced the continuation of existing restrictions till the remainder of the month within a few days after the Centre decided to extend the nationwide lockdown till May 17.
Under lockdown restrictions, all shops in rural areas are allowed to run, while 50 per cent shops in towns will be allowed to function. Private and public sector offices will be allowed to function with a third of the staff. Meanwhile, shops selling non-essential items will remain shut in red zones.
The state government has announced curfew hours between 7 pm and 6 am in all 33 districts of the state. “Public should complete purchase of essential items by 6 pm and return to their residences by then. There will be curfew in the state from 7 pm onwards. If anyone is found outside, police will initiate action,” the chief minister had said.
The Mizoram government also extended the lockdown till May 31. The decision was taken after various political parties and several organisations, including those of NGOs, churches and doctors, favoured extension of the lockdown at a meeting on Thursday, an official told PTI.
Beginning May 18, Punjab will lift the curfew but will continue with the lockdown till May 31 with maximum possible relaxations, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said on Saturday.