Coronavirus cases have increased in some states such as Maharashtra (Archive)
Bombay:
All theaters, auditoriums and offices in Maharashtra will occupy just 50 percent of their capacity through March 31 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the state government said in an order today.
Maharashtra reported 25,833 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24-hour period through Thursday night, the highest since the pandemic outbreak last year.
Today’s order reducing capacity in theaters and offices also comes days after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned people about another strict lockdown if they started to abide by safety rules like no mask.
“All private offices except those related to health and other essential services to function at 50% of their capacity …”, said the order.
It allowed government and semi-government offices to receive a call about staff attendance. However, offices linked to the manufacturing sector will continue to have to work with reduced staff.
“In order to maintain social distancing on the shop floor, manufacturing units can be allowed to increase work shifts as approved by local authorities,” the government said, adding that any units found to be in violation of the security rules will have to close allows it to be reopened.
While the Uddhav Thackeray government does not provide breakout data or details on the locations of the access points, several strains of mutated viruses are suspected to be operating there, which explains such a steep rise in numbers.
In general, there has been a big jump in cases of mutant strains since their presence was detected in India. 158 new cases have been reported in the last 14 days.
After a six-month gap, Dharavi in Mumbai saw an increase in coronavirus cases, the latest data released by health authorities shows. The area dominated by slums in the heart of the financial capital recorded 30 cases in the last 24 hours. The last time Dharavi, infamous as Asia’s largest slum, saw such a big jump in one-day cases was on September 11, when 33 cases were reported.
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