Nagpur: Amid growing threat of the Omicron variant in Maharashtra, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday asked the people not to lower their guards and said the state cannot have another lockdown.
Thackeray said that in order to avoid lockdown, everyone must follow Covid-19 appropriate behavior. He also asked the state authorities to take necessary steps to protect the citizens from the new variant without waiting for the Centre’s directives. “Saying kuch nahi hota yaar won’t do anything at all,” he said.
Thackeray was addressing the divisional commissioners and district collectors virtually to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the state due to the newly-discovered variant threat.
“The challenge of the new variant Omicron and its severity will also have to be tackled by the administration in Mumbai and the rest of the state. If the virus spreads again, we can’t afford steps like a lockdown. If that is to be avoided, COVID-appropriate behaviour is a must.
Regular use of face masks, avoiding crowds, maintaining physical distance, have to be followed,” he said.
He also asked the officials to ramp up Covid-19 vaccination at districts and cities where there is a lesser number.
Recently, six returnees from South Africa tested positive on arrival at Mumbai airport. However, the officials are yet to reveal the variant they have been tested positive with. The Maharashtra government has also made it mandatory to quarantine the international passengers entering the state from ‘at-risk’ countries for seven days.
In the latest, RT-PCR report, not later than 72 hours has been made mandatory for domestic passengers entering the city.
