COVID restrictions to be lifted in 18 Maha districts

Coronavirus-induced restrictions will be lifted from Friday in 18 out of 36 Maharashtra districts where the positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy have dipped considerably, the state government said.

Disaster Management Minister Vijay Wadettiwar made the announcement after a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority on Thursday.

The lockdown-like restrictions, imposed in April this year when the second wave of the pandemic intensified, would be lifted in 18 districts where the positivity rate is 5 per cent or less and the occupancy of oxygen beds in hospitals is less than 25 per cent, he said.

These 18 districts are Aurangabad, Bhandara, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Jalgaon, Jalna, Latur, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Yavatmal, Washim, Wardha, Parbhani and Thane.

All restrictions would be lifted in these districts, he said.

Restrictions in Mumbai would be relaxed partially, but the travel by local trains, the state capital's lifeline, would not be open to the general public as of now, the minister said.