Mumbai Police extends Section 144 till 30 Sept; don't panic, no new restrictions, says Aaditya Thackeray

The Mumbai Police on Thursday extended Section 144 in Mumbai's 'containment zones' till 30 September to restrict movement in view of rising coronavirus cases, an official said.This, however, is not a new lockdown, but an extension of the government's 31st August order.As per a report in Moneycontrol, the orders restricting movement and gathering of people, were extended due to rising coronavirus cases and deaths in the city."... Mumbai city continues to be threatened with the spread of COVID-19, it is considered expedient to issue prohibitory order for restricting any presence or movement of one or more persons in public places or gathering of any sort anywhere, including religious places..." the order stated, according to the report."All movement of one or more persons in the areas designated as 'containment zones' by the municipal authorities is prohibited, except for essential activities, supply of essential goods and medical emergencies," a report in CNBCTV18.com, quoting excerpts from the order, stated.As of Wednesday, Mumbai had 1,75,886 while 8,277 people had died due to the virus.On Wednesday, Mumbai reported over 50 fatalities from the virus in a single day after a gap of 35 days.According to PTI, the metropolitan had sealed close to 8,992 building and has over 600 containment zones as of Wednesday.According to the BMC, the city has an average COVID-19 growth rate of 1.28 percent and the average doubling rate of 55 days.As per the order, those involved in emergency duties as well as government/ semi-government agencies and their officials on duty will continue to be exempted from the restrictions as well.The restrictions will also not apply to essential service providers such as telephone and internet services, electricity and petroleum-related businesses. Banking and stock exchanges are also exempted from the restrictions.Establishments supplying essential goods like vegetables and grocery stores and medical emergencies have also been exempted from the restrictions.IT and IT-enabled services and data centres, media, ports and godowns and warehousing-related establishments as well as trucks, tempos carrying goods and manpower related to the above services are also allowed.Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, taking to Twitter, assured the public that there is no need to panic over the order and that the restrictions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are in place since lockdown began.With inputs from PTI