COVID-19 spike | Maharashtra govt announces new restrictions; religious, social gatherings banned

The Maharashtra government on March 16 announces fresh curbs amidst rising COVID-19 cases in the state.

The state government has also put a cap of 50 people in place for weddings, while all other public gatherings – social, cultural, political and religious – have been completely banned.

In addition, not more than 20 people will be allowed at funerals.

According to the new guidelines issued, all restaurants, hotels and cinema halls have been ordered to operate at half the capacity.

Nobody will be allowed inside these establishments without wearing a mask and a temperature check, the state government said in a notification.

However, the 50 percent capacity rule will not apply to offices dealing with health and other essential services. As far as possible, employees should be asked to work from home, the state notification said.

In the case of home isolation, the patient must inform local authorities about the medical professional under whose supervision he or she is.

A board will be put up on the door for 14 days indicating the presence of COVID-19 patient at the location. Patients will be stamped "home quarantine" on the hand.

If patients violate these norms, they will be shifted to covid care centres.

Management bodies of all religious places have been asked to decide and declare the maximum number of visitors per hour they will allow, depending on the availability of space for movement and gathering with proper distancing.

Violation shall also attract penalties under the Disaster Act for the owner of premises. The property shall also have to remain closed till the period the COVID-19 pandemic stays notified as a disaster by the central government, the guidelines stated.

The announcement comes on the day Maharashtra reported as many as 15,051 fresh COVID-19 cases pushing the total number of cases to 23,29,464. The state logged over 15,000 new infections daily for four straight days.

With inputs from PTI