Maharashtra Govt issues guidelines for New Year celebrations to contain spread of COVID-19

On Monday, the Maharashtra government unveiled guidelines for New Year celebrations to contain the spread of novel coronavirus in the state. It urged people to welcome 2021 in an extremely simple manner. The state government had issued similar directives for the celebration of all major religious festivals this year taking into account the COVID-19 crisis. It is mandatory for everyone to scrupulously follow all rules laid down by the Health, Environment and Medical Education departments and the respective Municipal Corporation, police and local administration. Currently, there are 19,19,550 novel coronavirus cases in Maharashtra while 18,09,948 patients have been discharged and 49,255 fatalities have been reported. 

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Here are the guidelines:

• Though there is no special curfew imposed in the entire state on New Year's eve, the people are expected to stay at home on December 31 and January 1.
• It is necessary to pay attention to avoid crowding of people in public places such as beaches, gardens and roads on December 31 and ensure social distancing and the use of masks and sanitisers. 
• The residents of Mumbai and other big cities, in particular, need to take precautions amid the crowding at places such as Gateway of India, Marine Lines, Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu Chowpatty.
• Residents above 60 years of age and below 10 years of age should stepping out of their homes.
• No religious or social gathering should be organised on this occasion.. Also, no procession should be carried out. 
• On the first day of the new year, many people visit religious places. At this juncture, they should avoid gathering at the same time and observe social distancing.
• Firecrackers should not be burst. People should follow the rules pertaining to noise pollution.

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COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra

At present, there are 59,214 active COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra. With 2,124 COVID-19 patients discharged on December 27, the number of recovered soared to 18,09,948. Moreover, 66 deaths including 16 from Kolkata and 8 from Mumbai were reported in the day. So far over 1.24 crore samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in labs operational across the state. While 4,57,385 persons are under home quarantine, 3,323 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. The COVID-19 recovery rate and fatality rate in Maharashtra stand at 94.29%, and 2.57% respectively. 

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