Maharashtra new COVID guidelines: All you need to know about what's allowed, what's not

File image: Commuters at a railway station in Mumbai (Photo: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas)

In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray-led state government on April 4 imposed new curbs to control the transmission rate of the contagion.

Maharashtra cabinet, during a meet earlier in the day, decided to implement stricter COVID-19 rules in the state. The new set of strict guidelines which will be called ‘Break The Chain’ instead of ‘Mission Begin Again’ will come into effect from 8 pm on April 5. The strict guidelines are likely to be in place till April 30.

Read | Maharashtra’s new COVID-19 guidelines: All your questions answered

Here's a list of what's allowed and what's not in Maharashtra:

1) Night curfew from 8 pm to 7 am from April 5. No more than 5 people will be allowed to gather.

2) Strict lockdown on weekends.

3) Shops, malls, markets, except groceries, medicines will remain closed till April 30

4) All types of public & private transport will continue on a regular basis. While for rickshaws drivers and two passengers are allowed, taxis can not have more than a driver and 50 percent of the scheduled passengers.

5) Section 144 will be implemented in Maharashtra.

6) Restaurants are permitted only for take away and parcel services. But if the restaurant is part of a hotel, it can only be opened for people staying there.

7) E-commerce service will continue regularly from 7 am to 8 pm. Delivery staff must be vaccinated as soon as possible.

8) Employees of private offices will be required to work entirely from home. However, only stock markets, insurance, pharmaceuticals, mediclaim, telecommunications, local disaster management, electricity and water supply offices will be permitted to remain open.

Subsequently, the state government added petrol pumps and petroleum related products, all cargo services, data centres/cloud service providers/IT services supporting critical infrastructure and services, government and private security services and fruit vendors to the list of essential services.

9) Agriculture and agricultural activities and transportation of food grains will continue as usual.

10) Cinema halls and drama theaters will be closed.

11) Schools and colleges will remain closed.

12) Micro-containment zones will be put in place with strict measures.

13) Construction activities will continue but the contractors will have to make arrangements for workers to stay and their vaccination.

14) Gardens and beaches will be closed.

15) Swimming pools, sports complexes, auditoriums, water parks will be completely closed.

16) Salons, beauty parlors and spas will be closed.

17) Newspaper printing & distribution will continue as usual.

18) Shooting of films and serials can continue, provided there's no crowding during shoot. RT-PCR test certificates will also be mandatory for the staff.

19) Religious places will be closed for devotees and visitors. However, staff, priests, etc. will be able to offer daily pooja.

The restrictions come on the day, state's capital city, Mumbai reported over 11,000 cases- the most in a day since the outbreak began in the country. On April 3, the city reported over 9,000 new cases. On April 4, Maharashtra reported nearly 50,000 new cases contributing around 60 percent of all cases reported from across the country.

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