Mumbai, Jun 3 (IANS): In a significant move, the Maharashtra government has decided to lift all lockdown restrictions in half of the state's 36 districts from Friday, state Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar said here on Thursday.

However, important centres like Mumbai and Pune are not included in the list and shall continue with the existing restrictions.

Unveiling a much-anticipated 'five-level unlockdown plan', Wadettiwar said that it will be based on the weekly positivity rate of Covid cases and the status of oxygen-bed occupancy in the state that is currently grappling with the second wave of the pandemic.

In the first phase, all lockdown curbs shall be eased in 18 districts with less than 5 per cent positivity rate and oxygen-bed occupancy of 25 per cent, the minister said.

The districts where the positivity rate is around 5 per cent and oxygen-bed occupancy is within 25 per cent are Thane, Aurangabad, Nashik, Jalgaon, Dhule, Nagpur, Latur, Nanded, Jalna, Parbhani, Buldhana, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Gondia, Wardha, Washim and Yavatmal.