Maharashtra has demanded a special economic package for Mumbai from the centre.
Maharashtra, the state worst hit by coronavirus, has extended the lockdown in the state till May 31. The Uddhav Thackeray government decided to extended the lockdown with the number of cases rising steadily.The decision comes on the day when the third phase of nationwide lockdown comes to an end and the centre is expected to announce the guidelines for the fourth phase of the lockdown this evening.
Hours later. Tamil Nadu too extended the coronavirus lockdown in the state to May 31.
While the lockdown has been extended for the entire state of Maharashtra, an order on phase-wise lifting or relaxation of the curbs will be notified soon. "The calibrated phase-wise relaxation/lifting of lockdown orders will be notified in due course," order issued by Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta said.
The state has reported nearly one-third of the country's total COVID-19 cases. The coronavirus cases in the state crossed the 30,000-mark on Saturday as it reported 1,606 new cases in a single day. With a jump of 884 cases, Mumbai's total cases reached 18,555.
Mumbai, the worst-hit city, saw a jump of 884 cases on Saturday.
Maharashtra is expected to have over 50,000 cases by the end of May with a majority of them in Mumbai.
The state government has demanded a special economic package for Mumbai from the centre.
After a meeting with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday, Maharashtra's Industry Minister Subhash Desai had told NDTV that the lockdown will be extended in Mumbai and other major cities.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had met his alliance partner and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, as well as some of his cabinet colleagues on Friday to discuss the possible resumption of economic activities in some regions of the state.
Industrial or businesses activities were resumed in orange and green zones of Maharashtra after April 20.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised address to the nation last Tuesday, said there will be a fourth phase of the countrywide lockdown, which will be "very different" with new rules. Lockdown 4.0 which enters its fourth phase from tomorrow, is likely to see a lot of relaxations, especially in terms of public transport, sources indicate. With a limited number of passenger trains running since last week, it is the aviation sector and road transport, including metro services, which are expected to get some relaxation now.
The guidelines will be announced today for the fourth phase, which is expected to last for two more weeks, until May 31.
India has crossed the 90,000-mark in the number of coronavirus cases as it recorded the biggest single-day jump of 4,987 new patients, bringing the total to 90,927 cases so far, including 2,872 deaths, Union Health Ministry said today.