Govt imposes lockdown in Amravati; restrictions in Yavatmal due to spike in cases

Owing to a rise in novel coronavirus cases in Maharashtra’s Amravati, district collector Shailesh Naval on Thursday, February 18 announced a lockdown this weekend, starting at 8 pm on February 20. It will be in effect till 7 am on February 22.

"I advise all the people of the district to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines failing which strict action will be taken by the concerned authorities," he said while talking to reporters.

Until a month ago, Amravati city was recording less than 70 cases a day. In a month, the spike in cases in the entire district is fastest across the state, worrying officials of an unusual transmission pattern. With 430 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, Amravati corporation joined Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur in its highest single-day case record this year.

Following this information, the Yavatmal district also tightened its COVID-19 restrictions. However, there is no lockdown in the Yavatmal district.

Yavatmal Collector M D Singh said the number of coronavirus cases in the district was increasing since February 1, and the district has 606 active cases as of Wednesday, February 17. He added that almost 80 to 90 per cent of new cases were being reported from Yavatmal, Pandharkawda and Pusad cities.

Maharashtra reported 5,427 new COVID-19 cases, 2,543 discharges, and 38 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per State Health Department on Thursday, February 18. The total cases in the state are 20,81,520

Total recoveries are 19,87,804. The active cases are 40,858, while the death toll is at 51,669 in the state.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Maharashtra were the worst-affected areas of the country since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in February-March 2020.

Hence, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation issued fresh guidelines in Mumbai amid rising cases of COVID19. According to this, if five or more COVID patients are found in a building, it will be sealed, the BMC Commissioner IS Chahal said on February 18.

On February 16, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray directed senior officials to take strict action against people or organisations who flout COVID-19 guidelines.