MUMBAI, Jan 29: Maharashtra on Friday extended the coronavirus lockdown in the State till February 28. The Mission Begin Again guidelines will remain in force till the end of next month, said the Government.

“Activities already allowed and permitted from time to time shall be continued and all earlier orders shall be aligned with this order and shall remain in force up to 28 February”, an official statement read. The lockdown has been in force in the State for the last nine months.

The State of Maharashtra has been the worst-hit by the covid pandemic although the daily coronavirus cases in the State has shown a down trend like elsewhere in the country. However, Maharashtra and Kerala today account for about 70 per cent of all active coronavirus cases in the country. Maharashtra has 43,147 active covid cases and the total cases stand at 20,21,184. On Friday 2,771 new cases were reported in the State, and 56 new deaths in the past 24 hours. Total deaths were 51,000, about one-third of all the national figure.