Lockdown-like restrictions in Maharashtra? CM Uddhav Thackeray to take BIG decision as Omicron fears increase

Amid rising concerns over new COVID-19 variant ‘Omicron’, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is set to hold a COVID-19 review meeting with all Divisional Commissioners and Collectors on Sunday (November 28). 

Sources claimed that the Maharashtra government may announce some lockdown-like measures to combat the spread of new variant. It is to be noted that Omicron was first detected in South Africa and is now slowly spreading to different parts of the world. WHO has classified Omicron as a ‘Variant of Concern’ because it is highly transmissible.

On Saturday, a meeting was called by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to hold discussions over the steps which the state government can take to check the spread of Omicron in Maharashtra. The meeting was attended by senior officials from different departments including police, airport, superintendents of major civic hospitals, executive health officers and members of state COVID-19 task force.

In a related development, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Saturday said that all travellers coming from South Africa will be quarantined and their samples will be collected at the airport. 

“All travelers from foreign countries shall be governed by directions of the Union government while domestic travelers arriving in the state shall either be fully vaccinated or carry a negative RT-PCR test report valid for 72 hours”, said an official notification.

Maharashtra recorded 889 new coronavirus cases on Saturday and 17 people lost their lives due to the fatal virus. The state had added 852 cases and 34 deaths on Friday.