9-6 night curbs in Maharashtra amid Omicron spread, cap on wedding guests

The Maharashtra government on Friday imposed a 9-hour night restriction in the state to be effective immediately as the state on Friday became the first state to have crossed the 100-mark in the number of Omicron cases. Gathering of more than 5 people at any place during the restricted time between 9pm to 6am will not be allowed while essential services will be exempt. The government has also put a cap on the number of people allowed to attend wedding events and religious programmes. Maharashtra minister Anil Parab said not more than 100 people can attend such events organised in an enclosed place and 250 people will be allowed at open-air events. Hotel, spa, theatres can continue their operations with 50% of their total capacity, the minister said.

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Maharashtra on Friday became the first state in India to cross the 100-mark in the number of Omicron cases after the state recorded 20 new Omicron cases.

As the Centre has alerted all states and UTs to take adequate measures amid the festive season, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with the Covid task force on Thursday to discuss fresh curbs. Ways to avoid crowding during the festivities were discussed. The global situation of the pandemic was also taken into consideration.

Before Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat Rajasthan have taken restrictive measures to arrest the spread of the new variant which is the latest threat to India's fight against the pandemic. 

As of Friday evening, Maharashtra had 108 Omicron cases, including 54 who have been discharged. The new 20 cases reported on Friday included 11 from Mumbai, six from Pune, two from Satara and one from Ahmednagar. Of these new patients, 15 have history of international travel, one patient has history of domestic travel while four others had come in close contact with them. One patient is a minor while six patients are above 60 years of age. All new patients are asymptomatic, a statement said.