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 new daily cases in India.
The state, which includes the financial capital Mumbai, will close shopping malls, cinemas, bars, restaurants and places of worship from 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 will also impose a statewide night curfew from 8 pm to 7 am starting on Monday, allowing only essential services to operate during those hours.
Chief Minister of State Uddhav Thackeray met with a group of major industrialists on Sunday before announcing the new restrictions, according to a statement from his office.
Coronavirus cases continue to increase rapidly in India, with the number of new infections peaking on Sunday, largely driven by infections in Maharashtra.
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 accounts for less than a tenth of India’s 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.
India follows only the United States and Brazil in infections, with more than 12 million cases and almost 165,000 deaths recorded since the outbreak began.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday to review the status of COVID-19 and the vaccination program.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Abhirup Roy, edited by Rupam Jain, Frances Kerry, Peter Graff)