MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s richest state, Maharashtra, announced strict COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, following a rapid rise in infections accounting for more than half of the country’s new daily cases .
An industrialist who attended a meeting with the chief minister before the sidewalks were unveiled quoted him as saying that “the situation is dire and there could be a lack of hospital beds, doctors and oxygen cylinders”.
He declined to be named, but comments echo government and health officials in the Indian media about the situation in the state, which includes the crowded financial capital Mumbai.
The state will close shopping malls, cinemas, bars, restaurants and places of worship from Monday evening.
Authorities will also impose a complete closure on weekends, Nawab Malik, a state government minister, told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Malik said the government would impose a statewide night curfew from 8pm to 7am on Monday morning, allowing only essential services to operate during those hours.
Millions of migrant workers travel from all over India to get jobs in the western state, which accounts for about 16% of India’s economic output.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray met with industrialists before announcing the restrictions, according to a statement from his office.
Malik said industrial operations, such as manufacturing and construction activity, would be allowed to continue as usual.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday to review the status of COVID-19 and the vaccination program.
The country reported 93,249 new cases within 24 hours on Sunday morning, according to data from the federal Ministry of Health. Maharashtra, which accounts for less than a tenth of the population, accounted for 49,447 new cases.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, the state has contributed 57% of all cases and 47% of deaths in the country in the last 14 days.
Ten matches of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament to be played in Bombay between April 10 and 25 will continue as planned despite the new curbs, an official of the local cricket corps told Reuters.
The tournament, which will start without spectators from Friday at six venues across the country, has already been affected, with two positive cricketers, despite established coronavirus protocols for participants.
India is behind the United States and Brazil in the largest number of infections in the world, with more than 12 million cases and nearly 165,000 deaths recorded since the outbreak began.
Rajendra Jadhav in Satara and Abhirup Roy in Bombay; Additional Sudipto Ganguly Reports; Edited by Rupam Jain, Peter Graff and Alison Williams