Restrictions in Nagpur extended over rising Covid-19 cases

Nagpur district recorded 3,679 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking its tally to 1,89,466. The death toll after 29 fresh fatalities stood at 4,592.

The Maharashtra government on Saturday extended the restrictions in Nagpur, one of the districts badly hit by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

Nagpur has been under complete lockdown since March 15. (PTI)

The announcement was made by Dr Nitin Raut, Guardian Minister of Nagpur, who said that the restrictions have been extended in the city till March 31 over rising Covid-19 cases. Vegetables and other essential shops will be allowed to operate until 4pm, the minister added.

This comes after Nagpur district recorded 3,679 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, which took its tally to 1,89,466, according to state health department figures quoted by news agency ANI. The death toll after 29 fresh fatalities stood at 4,592.

Cases in the district have been on the riseu since February, forcing the state government to initially impose a week-long lockdown from March 15 to March 21. The district administration stated that shops selling essential items such as fruits, vegetables along with milk booths will be allowed to remain open during the week. All private offices had been closed while the government ones were functioning at a capacity of 25%. Hospitals were operative and residents were allowed to take vaccines.

Roads were barricaded and the police monitored the traffic. Vehicles were also stopped and questioned.

The guardian minister, at the time of implementing the previous lockdown, had said that it would be extended with stricter measures if cases continued to rise. He had also said that swab samples were sent for genome sequencing to check if there were any mutations.

The district administration, however, ensured that the lockdown would not impact the vaccination drive, and allowed people to accompany the ones going to get their jab. They had also appealed to social organisations, non-government organisations to come forward to help senior citizens reach vaccination centres.