The Maharashtra government will gradually bring curbs at places of worship and other sites, including liquor vends, that attract crowds to control the coronavirus pandemic, state health minister Rajesh Tope said, a day after the state decided to tighten restrictions in the face of surging Covid-19 cases.

Speaking to reporters in Jalna, the minister said that the restrictions imposed by the government a day earlier were in the interest of the people. "Curbs in crowded areas like liquor shops and places of worship will be imposed as well," he said. Tope, however, said that even as cases are rising, hospital bed occupancy and oxygen demand remain low. "When these start rising, we will enforce stricter restrictions," he added.