Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced that all workplaces in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and Nagpur will remain shut from Friday (March 20) midnight to March 31. He also said that government offices will operate at 25% attendance.
This comes in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maharashtra has the highest number of positive cases in India at 52, with one fatality.
The CM also said that while essential services will continue to operate in the state, any other important services that need to be operative will be notified by the collectors from time to time. Citizens are also urged to reduce unnecessary movement, said Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Tourism and Environment in Maharashtra.
“In Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nagpur all workplaces, shops and offices except public transport and essential services will be shut till March 31. Grocery stores, milk stores, other stores that supply materials for daily needs, banks will remain open. All workplaces have to enforce work from home and those who cannot, should shut down. There is no other way out,” the Chief Minister told the media, adding that these measures are being taken so that the crowd on public transport, especially in Mumbai reduces.
The Maharashtra government also announced that all exams for classes 1 to 8 will be cancelled and the students will be promoted to the next grade.
“Exams for Classes 9 and 11 will be conducted after April 15, 2020. All teachers, except for Class 10, can work from home. Two papers of Class 10 are left, those will take place as per schedule. These decisions are for the SSC Board,” Maharashtra Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad told ANI.
The Chief Minister added that five people have recovered in the state but he asked all citizens to remain cautious and maintain all precautions as advised by the state. The total number of cases in Maharashtra, as of March 20, stood at 52 with three new cases being reported on Thursday.
Many other states have asked people to work from home and have asked offices to provide the option, however there have been many complaints that companies, including many top ones are not allowing all employees to work from home.