Section 144 imposed in Mumbai till January 7 amid Omicron scare

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has extended Section 144 (a section that bans all public gatherings) in Mumbai starting today till January 7, 2022.

With this, all New Year’s celebrations, parties in any closed and open space including hotels, bars, restaurants, pubs, resorts and clubs are prohibited from December 30 till January 7.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope, on December 29, had highlighted that Mumbai may face a lockdown-like situation if the number of COVID-19 cases keep rising.

The development comes as India’s Omicron tally crossed 900 on Wednesday, and Maharashtra has the highest number of cases.

Separately, Mumbai, Delhi and Gujarat reported a big spike in fresh COVID-19 cases (all variants), their highest since May-June 2021.