Lockdown In Maharashtra Extended Till May 31

The Government of Maharashtra on Sunday notified an extension of the ongoing lockdown in the entire state until May 31. The third phase of the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 was set to end today. The state joins Punjab, Telengana and Mizoram who have already made state level announcements about extending the lockdown.

This would be the fourth extension of the lockdown. The lockdown, to contain the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was first announced on March 24, and since has been extended thrice. In a tweet, the chief minister's office of Maharashtra announce the extension. The order stated, "in his capacity as chairperson, State Executive Committee, hereby issues directions to extend the lockdown till 31st May 2020 for containment of COVID-19 epidemic in the state and all departments of government of Maharashtra shall strictly implement the guidelines issued earlier from time to time." According to the order, the "calibrated phase wise relaxation and lifting of the lockdown orders will be notified in due course."

Maharashtra is the most affected state in India, with 30,706 cases of the country's 90,927 cases as on May 16, according to the data available from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In his speech on May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed that the lockdown would be extended for the fourth time, albeit with a different set of rules. He said that the details would be given by May 18 by the respective state governments and the central government.