An-Najah News -  India’s Maharashtra state, the country’s largest regional economy, will allow a limited number of sectors to resume business on Monday, after a weeks-long shutdown to slow the spread of coronavirus left millions out of work.
Maharashtra, home to financial centre Mumbai, has the biggest share of India’s caseload of 15,713 infections, including a large number now ripping through its densely-packed slums.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that some activity would be permitted in the least-affected parts of the state while observing a strict lockdown in the red zones that have the maximum number of cases.

Farming, highway construction and manufacturing will be allowed in hinterland areas not heavily affected by the virus this week, the federal government said.

But Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said there would be no easing of rules in the capital, which accounts for over a third of cases.

“Currently, lockdown is necessary. No relaxations should be given in the hotspots in the city,” he told a press conference, adding he would review the situation later in the month.

There are fears that South Asia, home to a fifth of the world’s population, could become a major new front in the global war against COVID-19. A big outbreak would overwhelm poorly funded health systems across the region.