With Maharashtra witnessing a possible second wave of the novel coronavirus, the state government has ordered theatres, auditoriums and offices to take in only 50 per cent of their capacity till March 31.

“All private offices except related to health and other essential services to function at 50% capacity,” the order said. It allowed government and semi-government offices to take a call on staff attendance.

Govt of Maharashtra issues fresh measures applicable till 31st March 2021, in the wake of rise in #COVID19 cases here.

All drama theatres & auditoriums to operate on 50% capacity, no entry to be allowed without proper wearing of masks. All pvt offices to function at 50% capacity pic.twitter.com/HW73jiOjgg

— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2021

The state government also banned religious, social, political and cultural gatherings at drama halls and auditoriums.

Although the manufacturing sector has been allowed to function in full capacity, the state government advised the workforce to be reduced to ensure social distancing norms are followed. It also laid down some rules for the manufacturing sector, like no entry without masks and the centres have to have enough manpower to ensure all Covid protocols are followed.

“In case of violation of this order, concerned manufacturing units shall have to remain closed for a period until Covid-19 pandemic stays notified as a disaster by the Centre,” the Maharashtra government’s order read.

The order comes a day after Maharashtra reported 25,883 new cases of coronavirus infections, its highest single-day count since the start of the pandemic. Its previous highest was achieved on September 11 last year, when 24,886 cases were discovered.

Maharashtra has had a much sharper rise in the ongoing current wave compared to the one seen last year. Till February 9, the state had been reporting less than 3,000 cases a day. In less than 40 days, the surge has taken the state past its previous record.

Four cities in Maharashtra — Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur and Nashik — reported numbers that were higher than that of Punjab. Pune, the worst affected district in the state, has been reporting the highest number for any city in the country for several days now. On Thursday, it found 4,973 new cases. Nagpur, which went into a week-long lockdown from Monday, reported 3,831 cases, its highest ever.