Liquor Shops in Mumbai to Remain Closed After BMC Orders to Shut All Non Essentials Stores Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases

Mumbai, May 5: All the Liquor shops in Mumbai will remain closed from Wednesday as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ordered to shut all the non-essential shops in the maximum city amid rising coronavirus cases. The BMC on Tuesday issued an order regarding this. In its order, the civic body said that only essential item stores like grocery shops and medical stores/chemist shops would be allowed to be open in the maximum city. Dharavi Reports 33 New COVID-19 Cases Today, Total Tally in Asia's Largest Slum in Mumbai Jumps to 665.

As the BMC permitted only the opening of essential shops, liquor stores will also not be allowed to open in Mumbai from Wednesday. The decision was taken after long queues were witnessed outside the liquor shops since Monday. People gathered in large numbers outside these shops without following the social distancing norms. India Reports 3,875 Coronavirus Cases, 194 Deaths in Past 24 Hours; COVID-19 Tally Rises to 46,711, Death Toll Stands at 1,583.

BMC's Order:

On May 1, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the lockdown for two more weeks to contain the spread of the deadly virus. In its order the MHA also announced certain relaxations in non-containment zones as part of the government's strategy to end the shutdown in a phased manner. Standalone shops of non-essentials coomodities including liquor were allowed to open.

The number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai crossed 9,000-mark on Tuesday as 510 new people were diagnosed with the deadly virus in the past 24 hours. The city also reported 361 deaths. In Maharashtra, the number of cases rose to 14,541. The deadly virus also claimed 583 lives.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 05, 2020 10:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).