MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s wealthiest state, Maharashtra, announced severe restrictions on COVID-19 on Monday after a rapid rise in infections that now account for more than half of the country’s new daily cases.
An industrialist who attended a meeting with the chief minister before the curb announcement, quoted him as saying “the situation is bleak and there may be a lack of hospital beds, doctors and oxygen cylinders”.
He declined to be named, but comments echo those of government and health officials to the Indian media about the situation in the state, which includes the bustling financial capital Mumbai.
The state will close malls, cinemas, bars, restaurants and places of worship as of Monday night.
The authorities will also impose a total blockade on the weekends, Nawab Malik, a state government minister, told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Malik said the government would impose a statewide night curfew from 8 pm to 7 am starting on Monday, allowing only essential services to operate during those hours.
Millions of migrant workers travel from all over India to secure jobs in the western state, which accounts for about 16% of India’s economic output.
Maharashtra’s chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray, met with the industrialists before announcing the restrictions, according to a statement from his office.
Malik said that industrial operations, such as manufacturing and construction, could continue normally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday to review the status of COVID-19 and the vaccination program.
The country registered 93,249 new cases in the 24 hours until Sunday morning, according to data from the federal Ministry of Health. Maharashtra, which represents less than a tenth of the population, was responsible for a record 49,447 new cases.
The state, according to data from the Ministry of Health, contributed 57% of the total cases and 47% of deaths in the country in the last 14 days.
Ten matches in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, scheduled to be played in Mumbai between April 10 and April 25, will continue as planned despite the new curbs, a local cricket official told Reuters.
The tournament, scheduled to start without spectators from Friday at six locations across the country, has already been hit, with two cricket players having a positive result despite the coronavirus protocols established for the participants.
India is behind the United States and Brazil in the highest number of infections in the world, with more than 12 million cases and almost 165,000 deaths recorded since the outbreak began.
Rajendra Jadhav in Satara and Abhirup Roy in Mumbai; Additional reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Rupam Jain, Peter Graff and Alison Williams