Mumbai, March 20 (IANS): Further tightening the clampdown in the state in view of the growing number of coronavirus (Covid-19) cases, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday ordered all private offices, shops and commercial establishments to shut down in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, besides slashing the attendance in government offices to 25 per cent and cancelling all examinations from Class I to VIII.

However, Mumbai's lifelines, the local trains and public buses, will continue for now though he called upon the people to refrain from stepping out in the 'war against virus', with positive Covid-19 cases touching 52 in the state.

"After my appeal yesterday, we noticed a substantial drop in crowd in trains and buses, but more needs to be done. The government has decided that barring extremely essential services, all private offices will be closed till March 31, attendance in government offices to be only 25 per cent," Thackeray said.

These measures shall be effective from Friday midnight and will be strictly implemented barring extremely essential services like grocery shops, dairies, pharmacies and banks.