Maharashtra is likely to impose stricter
restrictions after more than 10 ministers and at least 20 MLAs in the state
have tested positive for COVID-19, the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar
said Saturday.

Pawar’s statement came a day after
Maharashtra reported 8,067 new coronavirus positive cases, a number that was
around 50 per cent higher than that of a day before.

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“We cut short the Assembly session
recently. So far, over 10 ministers and over 20 MLAs have tested positive for
coronavirus. Everybody wants to be part of the celebrations of New Year,
birthdays and other occasions. Keep in mind that the new variant (omicron)
spreads fast and hence caution is needed. PM Narendra Modi has appealed and
some states have announced a night curfew. In Maharashtra, cases are increasing
in Mumbai and Pune,” he told reporters after visiting the Jaystambh
military monument in Perne village on the occasion of the 204th anniversary of
the Battle of Koregaon Bhima.

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Queried on the possibility of more curbs,
Pawar said the state government is keeping a tab on the increasing number of
patients. “If the number of patients continues to rise then there will be
strict restrictions. To avoid strict restrictions, everybody should follow
norms,” he said.

Maharashtra has seen a sharp rise in new
daily coronavirus cases over the past 12 days of 2021. The state government, in
fresh guidelines issued Thursday night, capped the attendance at gatherings in
open or closed spaces at 50.

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Mumbai on Friday reported 5,631 new
Covid-19 cases, almost 2,000 more than Thursday, which took the caseload in the
city on the last day of the year to 785,110, a civic official had said. This
was a rise of 53 per cent over 3,671 cases recorded on Thursday.

Also Read: Centre asks states to impose district-level restrictions amid COVID surge

The COVID-19 positivity rate in Pune city
touched 5.9 per cent on Friday after 412 cases were detected, raising the tally
within civic limits to 510,218, according to officials.