Maharashtra bans entry of people without masks to Mantralaya amid Coronavirus outbreak

Amidst the rising number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government on Sunday announced that it was banning the entry of people without masks to Mantrlaya. The state government has been functioning on 5% work power for the last two weeks.

Issuing an official order, the state government stated that the people without masks will not be allowed to enter the Mantralaya. The decision is also applicable to all the employees of the state government who are currently asked to come to the office, said an official.

READ| Maharashtra: Thane city sees first COVID-19 death

Keeping in mind the commitment of the Mumbai Police in handling the COVID-19 lockdown, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Saturday distributed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), masks and sanitizers to Mumbai police personnel. "We want our police officials to remain safe while they are on duty amid coronavirus lockdown," he said. With 43 more people testing positive, the number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai increased to 278 while the death toll in the entire state due to the infection reached 19.

Coronavirus in Maharashtra 

As many as 29 people tested positive for coronavirus in Mumbai on Sunday, taking the total number of such cases in Maharashtra 690, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. With this, 406 COVID-19 cases have been reported from Mumbai alone, he said.

"Twenty-nine new coronavirus cases have been found in Mumbai; the state tally is now 690," Tope said, adding that 56 people have been discharged so far after recovery. Earlier in the day, 26 coronavirus cases were reported from parts of the state, including 17 from Pune, four from its neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad township, three from Ahmednagar and two from Aurangabad.

(With PTI inputs) 

READ| 'Uddhav Thackeray has been a revelation'; Omar Abdullah lauds Maharashtra CM