31st December 2020 celebrations go for a toss! Urban Maharashtra under night curfew till January 5, 2021

Mumbai: New year celebrations plans have gone for a toss as the state government has now imposed a night curfew in all urban areas (jurisdiction of all municipal corporations) of Maharashtra. The ban on movement during night hours – 11pm to 6am – will be in place from December 22, 2020 to January 5, 2021.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced the night curfew decision on Monday (December 21) in view of the emergence of a new coronavirus strain in the United Kingdom. It was also announced that passengers coming to the state from European and Middle East countries will have to remain under compulsory institutional quarantine for 14 days starting tomorrow. Such passengers will have to undergo COVID-19 RT-PCR test on the fifth or seventh day of their arrival in Maharashtra.

The state government announcement came after CM Uddhav Thackeray chaired a meeting to review the coronavirus situation in the state and implementation of preventive measures to curb the spread of the disease.

It was announced that independent hospitals will be arranged for passengers who display symptoms of the new, mutated COVID-19 virus.

Further, the state government has mandated home quarantine for all passengers arriving from countries other than from Europe and the Middle East.

On Sunday, Thackeray had cautioned the people of the state that the coronavirus threat was still very much there and asked people to follow all COVID-19 preventive guidelines.

“Let me say this again, the threat of Corona is yet to pass. To avoid the virus, do not let your guard down, do not crowd in public places, mask up, observe physical distance and keep washing hands,” the CMO wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday afternoon announced that all flights originating from the UK to India have been temporarily suspended till 11.59pm on December 31.