COVID-19 pandemic in Maharashtra

Commercial establishments such as movie halls, malls, swimming pools and gyms were shut across the state as a precaution.

[82] Pune Municipal Corporation decided to close all public gardens and Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, effective from 14 March, to contain the spread of the virus.

[85] Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced that shops and commercial establishments across several wards in Mumbai would be closed on alternate days, in order to implement social distancing and crowd management.

[91] On 14 April, he announced the formation of a COVID-19 Task Force, comprising leading doctors, to advise the state government on means to control the outbreak.

[93] On 26 March, BMC started marking pitches, one metre away from each other, outside grocery stores, fruits and vegetables shops in the city, in order to maintain social distancing.

[94] From 1 April, Mumbai Police started using a network of 5,000 CCTV cameras along with drones in order to monitor different parts of the city and ensure that the lockdown is observed.

[95] Apart from Mumbai, drones were also used in densely-populated areas of Thane district such as Mumbra and Bhiwandi for aerial surveillance and relaying audio messages and warnings.

[98] On 31 May, the Maharashtra Government issued detailed guidelines for offices, which include mandatory thermal screening, use of sanitisers and social distancing.

[99] In June, the cases in Dharavi, Mumbai dropped significantly because of preventive measures like testing and early isolation.

[111] Maharashtra government cancelled all the exams from grades 1–8 to make it easier to contain the Coronavirus outbreak among school students.

[125] Hotel, cab and private bus businesses in the state also reported a high number of booking cancellations in March.

[126] Amidst a surge in confirmed cases across the state, the health officials declared that several tourist and religious sites will be closed down as a precautionary measure.

Bajaj Auto closed down its manufacturing facilities in Akurdi and Chakan until 30 March, while Tata Motors scaled down operations in its Pune plant.

[130] Fiat, Force Motors and JCB also announced suspension of operations at units in Ranjangaon, Akurdi and Chakan respectively, until 31 March.

[132] According to a 17 March article in the Indian Express, the economy of Mumbai was projected to suffer losses worth at least ₹ 16,000 crore per month in the service sector, as a result of the outbreak.

[135] On 30 March, the state government slashed electricity tariff by an average of 8 percent for a period of five years in order to minimize the economic impact of the outbreak on industries.

[138] After the enforcement of lockdown, scores of migrant labourers in Maharashtra who were left without work began to leave for their respective states.

[139] Thousands of workers reportedly started going to Gujarat and Rajasthan by foot as transport facilities were suspended, but were stranded at the state border.

[144] Several employers such as Larsen & Toubro, Godrej Group and Shapoorji Pallonji announced that they would provide food, accommodation and wages to their migrant labourers.

[145] On 14 April, thousands of migrant workers protested against the lockdown near Bandra railway station in Mumbai, and demanded to be sent back to their states.

[146] By 1 May, authorities reported that 11.86 lakh migrant workers had been taken back to their home state by at least 822 Shramik special trains.