COVID-19: Gujarat extends night curfew in 8 districts till December 31 amid Omicron threat

In response to an increase in COVID-19 variant Omicron cases in Gujarat, the state government has extended night curfews in eight major cities till December 31. According to the official decree, the curfew will be in effect from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, and Junagarh are the eight cities still under night curfew.

In the meanwhile, businesses can continue to operate until 12 a.m. Restaurants are only allowed to occupy 75% of their seating capacity in order to maintain social distance, according to the decree. The order has not changed the limit of allowing maximum of 400 people for weddings.

COVID-19: Gujarat extends night curfew in eight districts till December 31

The first case of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 was recorded in Gujarat's Rajkot district on Sunday, according to district collector Arun Mahesh Babu. Other districts in the state, on the other hand, have reported incidences of Omicron. On Sunday, four additional cases of the Omicron variation of coronavirus were recorded in Gujarat, bringing the total number of people infected with this strain in the state to eleven, according to officials.

Omicron cases in Gujarat

New patients with the Omicron variety found in the state include a 45-year-old NRI and a teenage boy from the United Kingdom, a Surat-based woman who had recently visited Dubai, and a Tanzanian citizen. According to a health department official, the NRI (non-resident Indian) tested positive for coronavirus infection in an RT-PCR test conducted at the Ahmedabad international airport shortly after his arrival from the United Kingdom on December 15.

According to the authority, his other passengers and other contacts have tested negative for the virus. According to Gandhinagar Municipal Commissioner Dhaval Patel, a 15-year-old kid from Gandhinagar was also diagnosed with the Omicron variant after returning from the United Kingdom on Saturday. Officials said that a 23-year-old Tanzanian national who tested positive for COVID-19 on December 15 in Rajkot and a 39-year-old businesswoman in Surat who recently returned from Dubai have also been found infected with the new variant of the virus, bringing the total number of Omicron cases in the state to eleven.

The Tanzanian national, who arrived in Ahmedabad through Zanzibar and Dar-es-Salaam, tested negative for the virus after an RT-PCR test at the airport. On December 15, he was tested again after arriving in Rajkot and was declared positive, according to Rajkot collector Arun Mahesh Babu. 

Omicron cases in India

Meanwhile, India has reported 161 cases of the novel coronavirus strain Omicron, according to Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Health Minister.

"As of now, India has 161 Omicron cases...We are monitoring the situation daily with experts," the minister told Rajya Sabha while replying to a debate on the COVID-19 situation.

(Inputs: ANI and PTI)

(IMAGE: ANI / PIXABAY)