Raipur, Bhopal, Mumbai: These cities are coming under lockdown from today

The last weekend ahead of upcoming festivals of Navratri, Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Baisakhi etc., will see several urban areas locked up, markets closed as the peak of the ongoing second wave of the pandemic is expected in mid-April. Local restrictions, mini lockdowns, night curfews have already made a comeback starting from March. But as India saw unprecedented rise in the number of daily infections, the list of cities coming under lockdown is only getting longer. Northeastern states have proved to be insulated from the second wave and are free from local restriction.

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Here's a list of cities which are under strict restrictions starting from today:

Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur -- Entire Maharashtra

From 8pm today, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and all cities and districts of Maharashtra will come under strict lockdown till Monday 7am as night curfew and weekend lockdown will get combined. This is the first weekend of this year that the state will be under lockdown. No movement apart from essential services will be allowed. Mumbai authorities have issued separate guidelines for the city.

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Raipur

Chhattisgarh's Raipur has been declared a containment zone and its border will be sealed from 6pm, April 9 till 6am, April 19. Only essential services will be allowed for these 10 days and students appearing in exams will be beyond restrictions. Offices of Central government, state government, semi-government, as well as private offices and banks will remain closed.

Bhopal

All cities of Madhya Pradesh, including Bhopal, will come under a 60-hour lockdown starting from 6pm today, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced. Many Madhya Pradesh districts were already observing Sunday lockdowns. But this weekend, there will be strict restrictions in all urban areas of the state.

Cities/districts already under restriction

Chhatisgarh's Durg is under a nine-day strict lockdown, which began on April 6.

Cities under night curfew

Delhi, Noida, Chandigarh, Gujarat's Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Odisha's Sundergarh, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur, Rajasthan's Jaipur, Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Prayagraj are already under night curfew.

Bengaluru night curfew from April 10

Bengaluru will comes under a corona curfew from April 10 along with other districts of Karnataka, including Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburgi, Bidar, Tumkurum, Udupi and Manipal.

Do weekend lockdowns, night curfews work?

Lockdown is a measure to break the transmission chain of the virus. It can delay the spread of the infection, if properly enforced. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain recently said night curfew became necessary as people were gathering at night for parties, which increasing the threat of the infection spread.