India slaps night curfew in Maharashtra amid coronavirus spurt

With the second Covid-19 wave rising higher and several festivals, including Holi, round the corner, the authorities in the Indian state of Maharashtra of which Mumbai is the capital has announced state-wide night curfew from Sunday.

After a meeting to take stock of the Covid situation, state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said malls should shut by 8pm and cautioned that if Covid safety norms are not followed, the state will be forced to impose stricter restrictions. Currently, shops in Mumbai malls are open till 9.30pm while food courts run till 11pm. 

In the far northern suburbs, local authorities imposed tighter restrictions ranging from banning gathering of more than four people, shutting of non-essential shops, restaurants on weekends to curbs on shops timings and even banning wedding ceremonies. 

A doctor who attended the review meeting with CM Thackeray on Friday said many ideas were floated, from restricting train movement in suburban Mumbai to a lockdown. 
Another task force member, Dr Gautam Bhansali, said there is no question of a lockdown at the moment but various curbs could be announced. “It has been decided that Mumbai needs to be closely watched for two more weeks before any hard decision is taken,” he said.