Maharashtra's Nagpur imposes 7-day complete lockdown, essential services to continue. Details here

The Maharashtra government on Thursday decided to impose a weeklong lockdown in the state's Nagpur district from 15 to 21 March owing to the spike in novel coronavirus cases.

However, essential services such as vegetable and fruit shops and milk booths will stay open. Liquor will be sold online only during the lockdown period.

"Complete lockdown to remain imposed in Nagpur City Police Commissionerate area from March 15 to March 21," Nagpur Guardian Minister Nitin Raut said, adding that the essential services will continue in the district.

Raut chaired a meeting of top district officials and informed reporters that the lockdown will be enforced in the Nagpur Police Commissionerate limits from 15 to 21 March.

Raut also said people should not move out unnecessarily.

This comes a day after the Shiv Sena warned of stringent restrictions in an editorial in its mouthpiece "Saamana".

"Is Maharashtra heading towards another lockdown? Cases across the country are increasing and Maharashtra’s contribution is major, which is a cause of concern... People should maintain self-discipline and put some restrictions on themselves. Take care, else lockdown or strict restrictions are unavoidable," the editorial said.

'More parts of Maharashtra could go into lockdown'

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also indicated that more parts of the state could go into lockdown as virus cases have been on the rise in the state for nearly a month.

"In the coming days, there might be some places where a lockdown is inevitable. We will take the decision in the next couple of days," CM Thackeray said after receiving his first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 13,659 new Covid-19 cases, the highest one-day spike this year, which took the state's tally to 22,52,057.

Nagpur District recorded a fresh upsurge in coronavirus cases, with 1,710 people testing positive for the deadly virus on Wednesday. Vidarbha’s 11 districts together also recorded a new high of 3,934 Covid-19 cases on the day.

Amravati district, which is one of the problem areas, recorded 554 fresh Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, followed by Yavatmal at 429, Akola at 391, Buldhana at 385, and Washim at 117, all in the Amravati division.

In the Nagpur division, Wardha recorded 191 new cases of coronavirus. Other districts in this division, however, continued to have a lower case count: Bhadara (37), Gondia (26), Chandrapur (63), and Gadchiroli (31).

Nagpur district recorded eight deaths on the day, followed by Amravati at six, Yavatmal at five, Buldhana at three, Akola at two, and Wardha at one. No death was death recorded in the remaining five districts.

The coronavirus cases in Maharashtra have been on a rise since the second week of February.

Maha forms 7-point action plan to contain spread of Covid

To check the surge in cases of coronavirus, the health department of Maharashtra has come up with a seven-point action plan, including testing of close contacts, fast contact-tracing, mass testing in hot-spots and audit of deaths.

All district administrations have been directed to act upon these points immediately, according to a letter dated 3 March of the health department's principal secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas.

The action plan also includes strict adherence to norms on social, political, and religious gatherings, and involves civil societies and religious leaders to motivate people to adopt Covid-19-appropriate behaviour.

The action plan has been prepared following observations of a team from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which recently visited Nagpur, Amravati, Yavatmal, Thane, Pune and Mumbai, where there has been a spike in cases of Covi.