India imposes restrictions to prevent Covid spread


FE Team | Published: January 09, 2022 16:41:45 | Updated: January 10, 2022 12:04:38


File photo (Collected)

India reported 159,632 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly in the country, nudging several state governments to impose fresh restrictions.

India's richest state, Maharashtra, said on Saturday it would close swimming pools and gyms from Monday while schools and colleges have been closed till Feb 15 after daily cases in the state jumped to over 41,000.

The state government has said only fully vaccinated people will be allowed into private offices while limiting the capacity to 50 per cent of the total workforce, reports Reuters.

In the neighbouring state of Gujarat, authorities have extended night curfew hours and cancelled leave for all healthcare personnel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation later on Sunday, according to government sources.

The health ministry reported 327 new deaths, taking the official death toll since the start of the pandemic to 483,790. Total infections stand at 35.52 million.

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