Jalgaon: Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra's Jalgaon district will undergo a Janata Curfew for three days, district administration said. The curfew will begin on March 11 at 8 pm and end on March 15 at 8 am. During the Janata Curfew, every service will remain shut except for essential services.

While, Jalgaon has recently witnessed a sudden spike in the spread of the contagion. Emergency services, MPSC and other Departments' exams shall be exempted from the curfew, Jalgaon's District Collector Abhijit Raut said. The district collector also stated that enforcement of the order will be the responsibility of the municipal corporation and the local police. “Violators will face legal action under Epidemic Act and other relevant sections of IPC (Indian Penal Code),” he said.

On Monday, Thane imposed a strict lockdown in the district with administration identifying 16 hotspots. The order, issued by Thane Municipal Commissioner Vipin Sharma, said the decision was taken amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in these areas in the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, past few weeks, Maharashtra has been reporting a surge in COVID cases recently. The state on Tuesday witnessed 9,927 new cases, pushing the total to 22,38,398. With 56 fatalities, the toll climbed to 52,556. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had held a meeting with district officials to discuss the findings of the teams sent by the Centre to the state to analyse the reasons for the sudden jump in cases.