A night curfew will be imposed in Maharashtra from Sunday amid the sharp increase in coronavirus cases, ANI reported. Malls have been ordered to remain shut from 8 pm to 7 am

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ordered the curfew after a meeting with the divisional commissioners, superintendents of police, district collectors and deans of medical colleges to review the situation in the state, PTI reported.

Thackeray told the officials that he did not wish to impose a lockdown in the state. “But there seems a possibility of healthcare facilities falling short given the rise in number of coronavirus patients,” was quoted as saying by PTI.

Thackeray warned that the restrictions could get stricter if the people do not follow coronavirus guidelines. He also directed officials to ensure that there are plenty of hospital beds and medicines available.

The state has reported 36,902 new cases on Friday, with Nagpur district alone having more than 4,000 new cases. Mumbai reported 5,513 new cases, while Pune had 7,090 new infections on Friday, ANI reported.

The state’s toll on Thursday went up to 53,795.

Maharashtra has emerged as the top contributor to India’s coronavirus surge. The country registered 59,118 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the overall count to 1,18,46,652. This is the first time since October 17 that more than 59,000 new infections were recorded in a day. With 257 deaths, the toll rose to 1,60,949.