Maharashtra govt allows 50 pct capacity in theatres, private offices till March 31

Maharashtra reported 25,833 fresh cases of Covid-19 in the 24-hour period till Thursday night, the highest since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. During the same period, 58 deaths were recorded.

Mumbai alone recorded 3,062 Covid cases in the last 24 hours, which is the city's highest single-day increment in its total cases ever.

10 people died in the last 24 hours because of the illness, taking the total count of deaths in the city to 11,565.

"All private offices except related to health and other essential services to function at 50% capacity..." the order said.

The order allows government and semi-government offices to take a call on staff attendance.

However, offices linked to the manufacturing sector will still have to work with reduced staff.

"For the purpose of maintaining social distancing on the production floor, manufacturing units may be allowed to increase the working shifts as approved by the local authorities," the government said in its order.

"Any unit found violating safety rules will have to shut down till the government allows it to reopen," it added.

Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned people of another strict lockdown if they started going easy on safety rules like not wearing mask.

Thackeray is also planning to give Covid vaccines to three lakh citizens in the state every day.