COVID cases surge: Lockdown in Nagpur from Mar 15-21, says guardian minister Nitin Raut

A "strict lockdown" will be enforced in Nagpur from March 15 to 21 in view of spike in COVID-19 cases here, district guardian minister Nitin Raut announced on Thursday.

The district has been reporting a spike in daily cases since the last month.

Raut chaired a meeting of top district officials here and later told reporters that the lockdown will be enforced in the Nagpur Police Commissionerate limits from March 15 to 21.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had last year in January had appointed guardian ministers for all 36 districts of the state.

During the lockdown, private offices will remain closed, while government offices will work at 25 per cent capacity, said Raut.

Shops of essential commodities will remain open, the minister said. Liquor will be sold online only during the lockdown period.

Raut said people should not move out unnecessarily.

On February 22, some restrictions were imposed in Nagpur, including strict curbs on weekends.

On Wednesday, the district reported 1,710 new coronavirus cases, which pushed its overall tally to 1,62,053.

There are 12,166 active COVID-19 cases at present in Nagpur.

A total of 4,417 people have died due to the viral infection in the district so far, as per official figures.