Pune sees fresh curbs in light of rise in COVID-19 cases, complete lockdown in Nagpur from March 15

Pune, Mar 12: After a Corona situation review meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the Guardian Minister of Pune District, Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rau on Friday said that there will be no lockdown in Pune, but the restrictions imposed for controlling the spread of the Covid-19 virus will continue till March 31.

Rao was speaking to reporters after a meeting chaired by deputy chief minister and Pune's guardian minister Ajit Pawar, to review the Covid-19 situation in the district.

He said that all schools and colleges would remain closed till March 31.

"The hotels and restaurants will be allowed to provide parcel/home delivery for one more hour till 11 pm. Hotels/restaurants will have to put up a board outside mentioning total seats and how many are occupied and vacant. Malls and markets will close at 10 pm. Cinema halls will be allowed to operate with 50% capacity but they will have to closed by 10 pm. Roadside eateries will not be allowed to have more than five customers at a time. All clubhouses in societies will have to remain closed. MPSC/UPSC coaching centres and libraries will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity", Rao said.

Pune district in Maharashtra reported as many as 2,840 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, which pushed its overall infection tally to 4,28,344, a health official said.

The death toll reached 9,356 with 15 patients succumbing to the infection, he said.

"Out of the total number of cases reported during the day, 1,504 were from the areas located within the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits, where the tally has reached 2,13,025," the official said, adding that 675 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day.

With 815 new cases reported in the neighbouring industrial township of Pimpri Chinchwad, the COVID-19 count there stands at 1,11,515, he added.

Nagpur Guardian Minister Nitin Raut said Complete lockdown will be imposed in Nagpur City Police Commissionerate area from March 15 to March 21.

This decision comes amid a recent spurt in the number of coronavirus cases in the area. In the last 24 hours, around 1710 cases of coronavirus infection and eight deaths were reported from Nagpur. According to officials, a total of 10,458 samples were examined.