Authorities in Maharashtra have extended the lockdown in Amravati district for another week till March 8 amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Hindustan Times reported on Saturday. Officials said the lockdown was also extended in Akola, Akot and Murjitapur cities.

The officials said the situation in the district will be reviewed by March 5-6 to see if there is any improvement. A further decision will be taken after that, they said.

Lockdown in Amravati was first imposed on February 21. Maharashtra minister Yashomati Thakur had then said that all shops, except those dealing with essential commodities, will remain closed, including government and private educational institutions, coaching classes and training schools. People were allowed to buy commodities from 9 am to 5 pm. These restrictions are likely to continue. Further, the judicial working hours of subordinate courts in Amravati, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Akola and Washim districts have been reduced to five hours a day.

Besides the lockdown, Anjangaon Surji village has been declared a containment zone, reported India Today.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state from the coronavirus pandemic in the county. It reported 8,333 Covid-19 cases in the least 23 hours. Maharashtra has so far reported 21,38,154 coronavirus cases and its toll stood at 52,041, according to Union health ministry data. There are 68,810 active cases and 20,17,303 people have recovered from the infection so far.

Earlier, the district administration in Yavatmal had imposed a curfew effective from 5 pm on February 27 to 9 am on March 1. The state government had earlier imposed a imposed a 10-day lockdown in Yavatmal on February 18.

The district administration in Latur also decided to implement a “janata curfew” on February 27 and 28, while night curfews were imposed in Solapur, Aurangabad and Nashik. In Nagpur, schools, colleges and coaching classes will remain shut till March 7, while major markets will remain shut on weekends till then. Educational institutions have also been shut till March 31 in Jalna and till February 28 in Pune.