The Maharashtra government, in a revised order late on Thursday night, clamped more Covid-19 restrictions on a day the state saw a massive spike in daily cases at 5,368. The government stated that marriages or any other public programmes held in open or closed spaces should not have more than 50 people, while funerals cannot have the presence of over 20 individuals. The state has also imposed Section 144 at tourist spots and places that attract large crowds. These restrictions will come into effect from midnight of December 31 and will continue till further orders.
Earlier in the day, expressing concern over the rapid spurt in Covid cases in Maharashtra, state health minister Rajesh Tope said that additional restrictions need to be imposed upon the state to contain the virus spread. Issuing caution, Tope said there is a dire need of reducing crowding, vaccinate those who are unvaccinated and bring the vaccination rate in all parts of Maharashtra at par with the state average.
“Feel some additional restrictions in the state are needed, have also discussed with task force regarding it. CM Uddhav Thackeray will take a call on further restrictions in the next 2 days,” the health minister said.
Mumbai on Thursday witnessed a 46% jump in Covid cases from yesterday by registering 3,671 new infections. Maharashtra also reported 198 fresh Omicron cases, taking the total tally to 450 and one related death. The state’s active case pool now stands at 18,217.
The Maharashtra government has imposed section 144 in Mumbai from Thursday till January 7, in view of rising Covid cases. The police have prohibited New Year’s celebrations, parties in any closed or open space, including restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, resorts, and clubs. India’s financial capital has been witnessing a five-fold increase in its daily Covid tally over the last week. Fearing a third wave, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has reactivated its ward-level war rooms to tackle the increasing number of infections.
Third Wave Starts in Mumbai
Earlier, Maharashtra Covid Task Force member Dr Shashank Joshi said that the third wave has started in Mumbai adding that severe cases are still of Delta variant, and not Omicron.
Talking further about the new variant, first found in South Africa, Joshi said, “See, very few people are being hospitalized. Most people are being treated at home. The disease appears to be mild at the moment. We advise no congregation of people, avoid events such as weddings.”
Another member of the Maharashtra Covid Task Force member Dr Rahul Pandit said that the trend suggests that the third wave has started in clusters in Delhi and Mumbai. Dr Pandit said that the rate at which the cases are doubling indicates that it is triggered by Omicron.
“The rate at which the cases are doubling indicates that these are the characteristics of Omicron. But we are waiting for the genome sequencing reports of the last few days to understand the share of Omicron. Right now, it looks like a combination of Delta and Omicron,” Pandit told India Today TV.
He said that one would have to wait for over ten days to see the rate of the hospital in view of the rising cases. On the question of lockdown, Dr Pandit said that decision in this regard would be taken by the Maharashtra government based on the health infrastructure.
Latest Variant Infecting Kids
The new wave of the coronavirus pandemic could be worse than the earlier two waves, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said on Thursday while appealing to people to follow the norms. The new wave could be more terrible, therefore Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was issuing alerts to the states, Pednekar told reporters.
Earlier variants of the coronavirus infected mostly adults, but the latest variant is also infecting children, she said. “Hence it is necessary to be careful, she added. Appealing to people to follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, Pednekar said she herself would be avoiding weddings and other gatherings till the Omicron crisis recedes.
Across India, 961 Omicron cases have been logged so far, the government said today, stressing the country is prepared to tackle the spike and there is “no need to panic”. Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata, and Bengaluru are among the other cities that have witnessed an uptick in infections over the last week.
(With PTI inputs)
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