Omicron threat: Maharashtra government imposes Section 144 from 9 pm to 6 am

Representational image

Amid rising Omicron cases in the state, the Maharashtra government on December 24 issued fresh curbs including a 9 pm to 6 am night curfew. The gathering of more than five people in public places is prohibited during curfew hours. The order will come into effect from midnight.

The order to impose Section 144  from 9 pm to 6 am was signed on Friday by the state's Chief Secretary Debashish Chakraborty.

According to the circular, restaurants, gyms, spas, and cinemas halls will have to operate at 50 percent capacity. All of them will have to declare their full potential as well as 50 percent capacity, it added.

ALSO READ: Maharashtra government may close schools if Omicron cases continue to rise

Apart from this, the government ordered that the number of attendees should not be more than 100 for social, political and religious events in indoor spaces. For open spaces, the number of attendees should be less than 250 or 25 percent of the capacity of the space, whichever is less.

Also, the government instructed that the attendance for sports competitions and sports ceremonies should not exceed 25 percent of the seating capacity of the venue.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray chaired a meeting with officials on Friday and said that due to the high rate of spread of the virus, some restrictions should be imposed at present and further restrictions should be considered in the future. He also advised that proper COVID-19 protocols, including strict use of face masks, should be followed to check infection spread.

Maharashtra has already recorded 88 cases of Omicron variant in the past few days and is keeping a tight vigil on people coming from 'at-risk' countries. The state reported 1,410 new cases and 12 deaths in the past 24 hours, with its active caseload standing at 8,426. It also reported 20 new cases of Omicron on December 24.