Aurangabad:

In wake of a continuous surge in COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra Police Commissioner Shailesh Naval on Tuesday announced a night curfew in Aurangabad from 11 pm to 6 am till March 8.

The essential services are exempted from the curfew.

“Aurangabad has witnessed a rise in COVID-19 cases. There are reports of people gathering at places in large numbers and using masks very rarely. It has been decided that curfew to remain imposed from 11 pm-6 am from February 23 to March 8. Essential services are exempted,” said Nikhil Gupta, Aurangabad Police Commissioner.

“During this period, essential commodities, and industries, have been excluded and in the next phase, a decision will be taken on the weekly and vegetable markets,” he added.

As many as 132 COVID-19 cases were detected in the district on Monday, while 111 people were recovered from the disease and one patient succumbed to the virus.

At present, 941 patients are undergoing treatment in the district. The total number of patients in the district has reached 48,770, while so far 46,574 patients have been recovered. The cumulative death count stood at 1,255.

In view of the COVID-19 situation, the administration has emphasised on COVID-19 testing, which has been started at 15 centers of the city. There will be 24-hour RT-PCR testing at 4 centers.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Maharashtra has 54,306 active cases with 19,99,982 recoveries. As many as, 51,806 people have died so far.