Maha, Karnataka keep restrictions intact; Bengal relaxes curbs with riders

Mumbai/Bengaluru: The Maharashtra government on Thursday evening clarified that the existing restrictions on account of COVID-19 have not been lifted anywhere, contrary to the announcement made by minister Vijay Wadettiwar.

Relaxation of restrictions as per the situation in different areas is only under consideration and no decision has been taken, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

Wadettiwar, minister for Disaster Management, later said only "in principle" approval to phasing out of restrictions was given, but no decision has been taken.

He had told reporters in the afternoon that restrictions would be lifted in 18 out of 36 districts in the state where the positivity rate is five per cent or less and the occupancy of oxygen beds in hospitals is less than 25 percent from Friday. The CMO statement that followed said the government has not lifted lockdown-like curbs as COVID-19has not been controlled completely yet.

"The Coronavirus spread is serious in some rural areas....The curbs have not been completely lifted in the state," the statement added.

With 1,34,154 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 2,84,41,986 out of which 2,63,90,584 people have recuperated, while the daily positivity rate has further dropped to 6.21 per cent, the Union Health ministry said on Thursday. The death toll due to the viral disease has climbed to 3,37,989 with 2,887 more people succumbing to it, while the number of active COVID-19 cases was recorded below 20 lakh for the third consecutive day, according to the data updated at 8 am.

Meanwhile, Karnataka has extended the lockdown necessitated by the second wave of the pandemic till June 14. The restrictions will be in force till 6 am on June 14, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said on Thursday.

The Chief Minister had earlier said COVID-19 cases are high in rural areas and any move to ease the lockdown would have to be carefully worked out.

The state's Covid technical advisory committee in a report to the government has said positivity rate has to come below 5 per cent and the number of cases should be below 5,000, and only then the restrictions may be eased.

"We have extended the lockdown for another week because in the villages, the Covid situation is worst... If case come down to 5 per cent, we will give relief to everybody," Yediyurappa said.

With the Covid-19 situation improving in West Bengal, the state government on Thursday decided to allow restaurants to open for three hours in the evening, provided people working there are vaccinated, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

The eateries can be opened after the ongoing Covid-related restrictions come to an end on June 15, she said.

The government is also thinking of allowing shopping malls to operate with 25 per cent workforce after June 15, she said at a meeting with representatives of various Chambers of Commerce at the state Secretariat.

Covid cases continued their dip in Delhi on Thursday with authorities reporting 487 new infections in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 0.61 per cent. The city reported 45 more deaths from the virus, taking the toll here to 24,447.

The Capital now has less than 9,000 active cases, down from over 1 lakh at the peak of the most recent wave.