In the wake of the new coronavirus variant ‘Omicron’ causing worldwide concern, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will hold a COVID-19 review meeting on Sunday with all Divisional Commissioners and Collectors. Though nothing has been confirmed as of now, speculations are rife that the government may announce some restrictions to combat the spread of new B.1.1.529 variant, which was first detected in the southern part of Africa. Omicron has been Classified as a ‘Variant of Concern’ due to its reported high transmissibility. The development comes a day after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) called a meeting of various authorities including police, airport, superintendents of major civic hospitals, executive health officers and members of Maharashtra’s COVID-19 task force in the to discuss precautions to be taken in view of concerns over Omicron.
Maharashtra government on Saturday (November 27, 2021) issued fresh guidelines for COVID-19, including revised restrictions and permissions for passengers arriving in the state, amid the omicron variant scare. The restriction came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting with top health officials on Saturday to review the new variant concern. The Centre directed the states to take rigorous steps and accelerate the screening of passengers and pandemic appropriate behaviour. In addition to that, Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday held a meeting with state officials to address the augmenting threat of the Omicron variant. Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar issued new COVID restrictions to curb the spread of the virus amid the fear of a new variant. As per the new guidelines, travellers arriving from South Africa to the Mumbai Airport will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine. The authorities have also been instructed to make a list and track of all the international passengers coming in the state. The order further states that in case if a passenger is tested positive for COVID then the samples will be sent for genome sequencing.