On a day when the city reported three new cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant that took Maharashtra’s tally to 17 and India’s to 32, the police in Mumbai ordered a two-day ban on large gatherings, news agency PTI reported.
The restrictions were imposed within the commissionerate limits of Mumbai, prohibiting rallies and protest marches involving people and vehicles over the next two days, an official told PTI.
The order, issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), will be in effect for 48 hours on Saturday and Sunday, he said.
“It has been issued to prevent danger to human life from the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 as well as a threat to the law-and-order situation against the backdrop of violence that took place in Amravati, Malegaon and Nanded,” he said.
Maharashtra reported seven new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus on Friday including a three-and-half-year-old girl, the state health department said.
The three patients from Mumbai were all men, aged 48, 25 and 37 with recent travel history of Tanzania, the UK and South Africa-Nairobi, respectively, the health department said. The new cases took the tally of Omicron patients in Mumbai to five.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the 48-year-old traveller who returned from Tanzania was a resident of the densely-populated Dharavi area, but he was asymptomatic and isolated before he mingled in the community.
He tested positive for COVID-19 on December 4, has mild symptoms and he had not taken any dose of vaccine against the COVID-19, according to the civic body. His two close contacts tested negative for the viral infection.
Surjitt Sahani
