MUMBAI, April 4 — India’s richest state, Maharashtra, said it would impose stringent Covid-19 restrictions from tomorrow as there has been a rapid rise in infections, a state minister said today

The state will shut down malls, cinema halls, bars and restaurants from tomorrow evening and impose a complete lockdown on weekends, Nawab Malik told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Coronavirus cases continue to rise rapidly in India with the number of new infections nearing all-time high today, largely driven by infections in Maharashtra, home to the country’s financial capital Mumbai.

The country reported 93,249 new cases in the 24 hours to this morning, according to data from the federal Health Ministry. Maharashtra accounted for more than half of that with a record 49,447 new cases. — Reuters