Mumbai: Even as Maharashtra’s Covid-19 cases over the past few days have fallen below the peak of the first wave (September 2020), the state government has extended the ongoing lockdown by two more weeks, until 7 am on June 15, as 14 of the state’s 36 districts have a high positivity rate (more than 10%). Districts and cities with a positivity rate less than 10% and less than 40% occupancy of oxygen beds will be given certain relaxations, including an extension of timings of essential establishments; operation of non-essential establishments during restricted timings; and increasing the attendance in government offices to 25%. Most cities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including Mumbai, will be eligible for these relaxations. The state has about 14 districts with a positivity rate of more than 10%, including Thane, Raigad, Kolhapur, Osmanabad, among others. Twenty districts have a positivity rate of less than 10%. The state government has also earmarked 10 cities with more than one million population as separate units so that the high positivity rate of their district does not apply to them.

Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Aurangabad, and Nashik are 10 cities, which have been put in a separate pool. This will enable cities like Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, Vasai-Virar, and Panvel to have relaxations, although the positivity rate of the district is high.

The essential establishments, which are currently allowed to open from 7 am to 11 am, will now be allowed to open till 2 pm in these districts and cities, which have relaxations from the lockdown. Similarly, depending on orders by local authorities, the shops and establishments operating in non-essential services may be allowed to operate between 7 am and 2 pm (only on weekdays). Only stand-alone non-essential shops are allowed to operate and not in malls and shopping complexes. The e-commerce activities in cities and districts eligible for relaxations have been allowed to operate. The government offices in these districts and cities are now allowed to operate at 25% of their capacity. Stepping out of home after 3 pm has, however, remained curbed except for medical emergencies.

Thackeray also appealed to not resort to agitations, demanding for relaxations from the curbs, as that could result in super-spreading events. “I need the cooperation from the people and the political parties. As implemented in three villages in the state, every village, tehsil and district administration should take efforts to make their units Covid-19 free,” he said.

The state government started implementing the curbs from April 5 and went on tightening them by imposing an almost complete lockdown in the third week of April. The state witnessed its highest number of cases, 68,631, on April 18.