New Delhi: Mumbai reported 6,130 cases in the last 24 hours – a huge record since the pandemic began more than a year ago.The city has been under various degrees of restrictions – authorities have been hesitant about imposing a full lockdown in view of economic ramifications – but cases continue to spike.

The situation is of ‘grave concern’ in Maharashtra too which reported 35, 726 cases on Saturday. The state has announced a  strict night curfew from Saturday night with a blanket ban on all public gatherings and had directed malls, theatres, halls and auditoriums to shut at 8 pm. Meanwhile, the Gujarat government on Saturday announced that a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test report will be mandatory for those arriving from other states.

Earlier, the government had made negative test report must only for those coming from neighbouring Maharashtra which has been worst hit by the pandemic. The order will come into force from April 1. In the last few days Gujarat has been witnessing a surge in cases of coronavirus with Ahmedabad and Surat being the worst affected. The state recorded 2,190 new cases on Friday, highest since the start of the pandemic.

In the national Capital, the Delhi Police on Saturday appealed to people to avoid public gatherings on Holi and celebrate the festival at home in compliance with coronavirus guidelines. It also warned of strict action against those found indulging in public celebrations during the festival. Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority had on Tuesday ordered that there would be no public celebrations in the national capital during the upcoming festivals such as Holi and Navaratri. Chief Secretary Vijay Dev had directed the authorities to ensure strict compliance of the order. 

(With Agency Inputs)