Maharashtra unlock plan: Mumbai at 'level 3'; local trains off-limits to common people

Mumbai: Restaurants, shops selling non- essential items and public places are set to reopen from Monday in Mumbai which is categorised under level 3 of the ‘‘unlock’’ plan of the Maharashtra government but malls, theatres and multiplexes will continue to remain shut. As per the fresh guidelines issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday, local trains will remain available only for specific categories. In a notification issued on Friday night, the Maharashtra government had stated local trains will remain available for “medical, few essentials and women”, but authorised the civic administrations to put additional restrictions they deem fit. The reference of “women” was deleted by the BMC in its latest order which stated that entry in suburban trains will be restricted only for “medical and few essentials. As per the state government’s notification, municipal corporations and districts in Maharashtra with a positivity rate between 5 percent and 10 percent and occupancy of oxygen beds over 40 percent are categorised under level 3. As per the BMC order, shops selling essential products in Mumbai can remain open till 4 pm on all daysfrom June 7 while non-essential shops can operate till 4 pm on weekdays. Malls, theatres, and multiplexes will continue to remain shut. Restaurants in Mumbai can function at 50 percent capacity for dining till 4 pm only on weekdays. Parcel, home delivery and takeaway services will continue, it said. Public places and open grounds in Mumbai can remain open from 5 am to 9 am every day. Private offices can function at 50 per cent capacity till 4 pm on working days, the order said. The Maharashtra government had announced a five-level plan to relax the coronavirus-induced restrictions across the state, based on the parameters of the weekly COVID-19 case positivity rate and the occupancy of oxygen beds. Mumbai recorded a positivity rate of 5.56 percent and oxygen bed occupancy rate of 32.51 percent for the 28 May to 3 June week. The lockdown-like restrictions in Maharashtra were imposed in April this year when the second wave of the pandemic intensified. Under the five-level unlockdown plan, each municipal area and district will be treated as a separate administrative unit. The Level 1 category includes cities and districts which have a positivity rate of five per cent and oxygen bed occupancy of less than 25 per cent. The criteria for the Level 2 category is the case positivity rate of five per cent and oxygen bed occupancy at25 to 40 per cent. The parameters for the Level 4 category is the case positivity rate of 10 to 20 per cent and oxygen bed occupancy of more than 60 per cent. In the fifth category, the positivity rate is more than 20 per cent and the oxygen bed capacity is more than 75 per cent. The notification said that every Thursday,the state public health department will declare the number of oxygen beds and the positivity rate, based on which the disaster management authority will decide the level of an administrative unit. On Saturday, Mumbai reported 863 COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths, taking its case tally to 7,09,857 and the toll to 14,951.