Covid-19: Maharashtra curbs renewed on gatherings, establishments

With Maharashtra reporting over 1000 fresh infections for the past three days the state government on Friday imposed night curfew between 9 pm and 6 am with immediate effect and capped the number of people attending weddings and religious events in closed spaces at 100 The state also said that Mumbaikars flying in from Dubai must undergo home quarantine for seven daysWorried over a sudden spike in the Covid19 cases in Maharashtra in the past two days and the transmission of the Omicron variant the state government imposed new restrictions ahead of the new year celebrations The implementation of the new order started from Friday midnight itself Assembly of five or more people at public places have been barred from 9 pm to 6 am The number of guests in the indoor and outdoor weddings social religious and political functions and other events has been restrictedA train passengerrsquos swab sample being collected at LTT Kurla on Friday PicSayyed Sameer AbediHotels and restaurants will be under watch for violating the 50 per cent cap on the number of guests they can host A day after holding a meeting with the State Covid Task Force Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in a statement on Friday evening that the people should follow Covidappropriate behaviour and restrictionsldquoMaharashtra had over 2000 cases in the last two days Christmas weddings and new year celebrations will increase the public gatherings inviting further the risk of virus transmissionrdquo said Thackeray adding ldquoThe Omicron cases are on the rise in 110 countries Since the variant is highly transmissible we thought of imposing preliminary restrictions and reviewing the situation in the coming days before making the guidelines stringentrdquoAccording to the CM the Centre has also advised the states to be cautious and step up the preventive measures ldquoWe donrsquot start now the situation will worsen in the future and we will be back to the stricter lockdownlike measuresrdquo added ThackerayNorms for Dubai returneesWhile Mumbaikars coming from Dubai will have to undergo 7day home quarantine nonMumbaikars arriving at Mumbai airport wonrsquot be allowed to use public transport in the city They will be ferried directly from the airport by district authorities As per the new norms travellers who have connecting flights to other states or other parts of Maharashtra will be allowed to board the connecting flights but airport authorities will have to inform the respective airport officers regarding the travel history of the passengersThe residents of Mumbai wonrsquot be put through to RTPCR tests on arrival They will be monitored by ward war rooms during the mandatory 7day home quarantine These fliers will be made to undergo the RTPCR test on the 7th day If found negative the traveller will monitor himherself for another 7 days If the test is positive they will be shifted to the institutional quarantine as per the current guidelines for international travellersThe new guidelinesgtgt 100 guests for weddings where movement of attendees is generally staggered in enclosed places in open spaces the number cannot exceed 250 or 25 per cent of the capacity Similar curbs will be applicable to public events religious and political functionsgtgt Other than the above events indoor places where seating is specific the attendance cannot be more than 50 per cent of the total capacity where the indoor capacity is not specific the maximum limit will be 25 per cent of the total capacity The open spaces can host only up to 25 per cent of the total capacitygtgt Competitive sportsevents can have up to 25 per cent of the seating capacitygtgt The attendance for the events that are not defined in the order will be decided by the local authoritygtgt Hotels gyms spas cinema halls and theatres can use only 50 per cent seats They will have to make public their 100 per cent and 50 per cent capacitygtgt Local authorities are empowered to impose additional restrictions with a prior public notice9Duration in hours of the curfew every night