Maharashtra govt issues guidelines on relaxations in red, orange and green zones; Mumbai, Pune and Malegaon to have stricter curbs than rest of state

The Maharashtra government has issued a list of guidelines listing out what will be allowed and not allowed in different zones of the state.

As per the guidelines, only five non-essential shops, including liquor shops, can be opened in each lane. However, there is no restriction on the number of shops selling essential items.

A similar decision had already been announced for the COVID-19 green and orange zones, and such shops in these two zones were scheduled to open from Monday.

However, the state government on Sunday extended the easing of restrictions for shops in the red zones as well.

“Even in the red zone districts, there are some areas where coronavirus infection has been not prevalent for over a month now. These areas are known as non-containment zones. Such non-containment areas will have some relaxation, where shops selling non-essential commodities, like clothes, footwear, liquor, stationery, among others will be opened,” Bhushan Gagrani, an official in the chief minister’s office (CMO), said.

The decision has been taken after discussions with the Centre, he said.

However, social distancing norms have to be followed by all the shops. “To maintain social distancing, only a limited number of shops will be opened from Monday,” he added.

The timing of the shops will be finalised by the local authorities, such as municipal commissioners as well as district collectors, he said.

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Stricter curbs in Mumbai, Pune, Malegaon

The state government, however, has created a separate category for Mumbai, Pune and Malegaon and will implement harsher restrictions there than other red zones in the state.

According to the guidelines, private offices in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune Metropolitan Region and Malegaon will not be allowed to open from Monday. In other red zones in the state, they will be allowed to open with 33 percent staff strength.

Similarly, in these three cities, government offices will only be allowed to remain open with 5 percent staff strength. In other red zones, they will be allowed to open with 33 percent staff strength.

Till Saturday, Mumbai has reported 8,172 cases , Pune has reported 1,980 cases and Malegaon has reported 324 cases.

With inputs from agencies