Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Monday announced that shops will be permitted to remain open till 8 pm instead of 4 pm in the districts where Covid infections have reduced. Restrictions will continue in those districts where the infection is still on rise. For Mumbai local trains, the chief minister said that allowing all segments of society would be difficult “in the first phase” as the easing of curbs was being done slowly.
Thackeray, however, appealed for cooperation from people in those areas where relaxing the norms was not possible currently due to the caseload. “As far as giving relaxation is concerned, the state government is issuing an order today allowing shops to remain open till 8 pm (where positivity rate is low). However, where the number of cases is still not coming down, restrictions will remain the same,” he said.
Many traders in the state have been demanding that the timings of shops be extended till 8 pm from the current deadline of 4 pm.
While announcing relaxations, the chief minister said that the Covid situation in all such districts, including Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindudurg, was a cause of worry. He said he has asked district collectors to increase the number of tests as well as doctors to ensure people are protected.
When asked about allowing all segments of society in local trains in Mumbai, he said that deciding on it in the first phase would be difficult as what the government was doing was giving relaxations slowly and going ahead by analyzing the effects and side-effects of it.
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