Liquor shops will not be allowed to open from Wednesday in Mumbai, civic authorities said, as large crowds made it difficult to enforce social distancing in the first 2 days since several relaxations were announced amid the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.
Police baton-charged hundreds of people who had crowded to liquor shops across the country when they opened on Monday for the first time in a relaxation of the world’s biggest lockdown, which is set to run until May 17.
Government officials say the lockdown had helped avert a surge of infections that could have overwhelmed medical services.
Mumbai has reported the highest number of coronavirus cases in India at almost 10,000.
