Maharashtra orders stricter COVID curbs; grocery shops to only open 7-11 am, home delivery till 8 pm
Home deliveries may be allowed from 7 am to 8 pm, depending on local authorities, according to the order.
Mumbai: Maharashtra today ordered stricter curbs to fight Covid, saying groceries, vegetable shops and dairies will be open only for four hours and home delivery will not be allowed after 8 pm.
All groceries, vegetable shops, dairies, bakeries, fruit vendors will be open only between 7 am and 11am, according to a new state order. This goes for bakeries, confectionaries and all shops selling food. These shops were open till 8 pm till now, but now only have a four-hour window.
Home deliveries may be allowed from 7 am to 8 pm, depending on local authorities, according to the order.
The decision was taken after a meeting of the Maharashtra government yesterday. It was discussed that people were going out in the name of buying groceries through the day, crowding market places.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday said the second wave of Covid-19 has brought in before the administration a slew of challenges, including finding adequate oxygen and medicine supplies.
The state government has been finding out ways to tackle the challenges with solutions, Tope said, speaking at a healthcare event organized by IMC.
It can be noted that Maharashtra is the worst affected state, accounting for the maximum number of infections during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
“The second wave which has come has surely developed a lot of challenges in front of us. The supply of oxygen, supply of Remdesivir medicine is a challenge. But of course, we are finding out all ways and means as a solution for these problems,” Tope said.