India
Latest News LIVE Updates: Night Curfew In Maharashtra From Sunday
Latest News LIVE Updates: The active caseload breached the 4 lakh-mark again. (File)
New Delhi:
Maharashtra will enforce a night curfew from Sunday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s office said, as the state struggles with its biggest surge in coronavirus infections since the beginning of the pandemic. Shopping malls will be closed from 8 pm to 7 am, the order said.
Mr Thackeray warned of stricter restrictions if the people did not follow COVID-19 safety rules. He said that district chiefs will decide when to order lockdowns but said that there will not be any sudden state-wide lockdown and the public will be given advance notice.
“I do not wish to impose lockdown. But there seems a possibility of healthcare facilities falling short given the rise in number of coronavirus patients,” Mr Thackeray was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office.
He asked officials to ensure availability of adequate hospital beds and medicines, the statement said.
Maharashtra recorded 36,902 coronavirus infections on Friday, the highest one-day rise since the pandemic began, along with 112 deaths. The state has added over 1.3 lakh cases in five days. Mumbai also surpassed it’s record of 5,504 cases from yesterday with 5,513 new infections and nine deaths.
India saw 59,118 new coronavirus infections in a day, the highest single day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,18,46,652, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The active caseload breached the 4 lakh-mark again after around three-and-half months.
Here are the Latest News Live Updates:
A leading hotel in Rishikesh has been closed for 48 hours as a precautionary measure after 16 of its employees tested positive for COVID-19 in a day, an official said on Friday.
Sixteen employees of Taj Rishikesh Resort and Spa tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, senior district official Yukta Mishra said.
The hotel has been closed for 48 hours during which it will be fully sanitised and its entire staff will be tested for COVID-19, she said.
People who may have come in contact with the employees of the hotel are also being traced, she said.
The Maharashtra government may have to take “strict action” in Pune by April 2 if the coronavirus situation remains unchanged, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said today, hinting at reimposing lockdown.
“I want to tell the people that the situation is worsening. If the situation remains unchanged, we might have to take strict action by April 2. I urge everyone to please follow rules. Wear masks, maintain social distance,” he said today, after meeting with officials and elected representatives in the district.
Mr Pawar said the government has decided to place restrictions on assemblies in the district. He said not more than 50 guests will be allowed in marriage functions; 20 people will be allowed to attend funerals.
Nearly 500 people have been charged in the United States for fraud schemes involving more than half a billion dollars in Covid-19 relief, the Justice Department said Friday.
“The Department of Justice has led an historic enforcement initiative to detect and disrupt Covid-19 related fraud schemes,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
A total of 474 defendants have been charged in cases involving attempts to fraudulently obtain over $569 million dollars, the department said.
