New COVID-19 strain: Night curfew in Maharashtra starting today; mandatory quarantine for European arrivals
Mumbai: The Government of Maharashtra on Monday decided to impose night curfew in municipal corporation limits in the state till January 5 in view of the emergence of a new coronavirus strain in the United Kingdom.
The night curfew will remain in force from 11 pm to 6 am every day starting Tuesday, December 22.
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 Tuesday. Such passengers will have to undergo COVID-19 RT-PCR test on the fifth or seventh day of their arrival in Maharashtra.
The announcement came after CM Uddhav Thackeray chaired a meeting on Monday evening 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.