Mumbai: With the dip in the number of Covid-19 cases, the Maharashtra government is planning to relax Covid-19-induced lockdown-like curbs in the state. The state is likely to give relaxation in shop timings. It may also allow shops dealing in non-essential items to remain open for limited timings.

Currently, all shops selling goods classified as ‘essential’ are allowed to remain open only from 7 am to 11 am. According to The Times of India, the government is working on a plan to allow the re-opening of services and sectors from June 1 in a phased manner. Officials said that the relief may not be extended to all districts. The state government is also likely to increase attendance in government offices. Currently, only 15% of employees are allowed in public offices. Relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar said that the state government had been considering relaxing certain restrictions, but restrictions to allow commuters on local trains and for inter-district travel will continue for some more time.

According to Reuters, Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Monday said the government was contemplating relaxing lockdown curbs in districts outside the “red zone" after June 1. He reportedly said 15 districts (out of a total of 36) are in the “red zone" (high caseload) and the curbs there could be made stricter. Buldhana, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Yavatmal, Amravati, Sindhdurg, Solapur, Akola, Satara, Washim, Beed, Gadchiroli, Ahmednagar, and Osmanabad are the districts where coronavirus cases are still on the rise, the minister said.

Maharashtra recorded 22,122 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, taking the state’s infection tally beyond the 56-lakh mark to 56,02,019, while 361 more deaths pushed the toll to 89,212, the health department said. Recoveries outnumbered the fresh cases. A statement from the health department said 42,320 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 51,82,592. The state’s Covid-19 recovery rate is 92.51 percent, while the case fatality rate is 1.59 percent, the department said. Maharashtra is now left with 3,27,580 active cases, it said. As many as 2,63,774 people were tested for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the number of tests done so far in the state to 3,32,77,290, the department said.