Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday ordered the imposition of night curfew from Sunday in light of an alarming rise in coronavirus cases. A statement by the Maharashtra government said that the chief minister had ordered a night curfew effective from 28 March onwards.
The Maharashtra chief minister said that his government would be forced to impose stricter rules if people did not adhere to COVID-19 protocols.
“I do not wish to impose lockdown. But there seems a possibility of healthcare facilities falling short given the rise in number of coronavirus patients,” news agency PTI quoted Thackeray as saying.
The latest order to impose a night curfew came after Maharashtra saw lockdowns in several districts. On Thursday alone, the state recorded 35,952 coronavirus infections, the highest one-day rise since the pandemic began. A report by NDTV said that the western Indian state recorded 36,902 coronavirus infections on Friday, the highest one-day rise since the pandemic began, along with 112 deaths.
While several Indian states have reported a new spike in COVID-19 cases with Maharashtra contributing more than half of them. What has caused a great deal of concern to experts is the discovery of the ‘double mutant’ in the state.
