Mumbai pubs, clubs, resorts and restaurants are not allowed to host any special New Year event till Jan 7

• Section 144 has been imposed in Mumbai starting December 30 till January 7.
• The development comes as India’s Omicron tally crossed 900 on Wednesday.
• Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, and Haryana have also imposed fresh restrictions ahead of New Year’s eve.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government has extended Section 144 (a section that bans all public gatherings) in Mumbai starting today till January 7, 2022. With this, all New Year’s celebrations, parties in any closed and open space including hotels, bars, restaurants, pubs, resorts and clubs are prohibited from December 30 till January 7.

However, the restaurants and pubs will continue to operate during regular hours of business at 50% capacity.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope, on December 29, had highlighted that Mumbai may face a lockdown-like situation if the number of COVID-19 cases keep rising. “Worrying to see the number of active cases increasing in the State. Mumbai's positivity rate is at 4%. If this goes above 5%, then we will have to think about imposing restrictions," Tope was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The development comes as India’s Omicron tally crossed 900 on Wednesday, and Maharashtra has the highest number of cases. Separately, Mumbai, Delhi and Gujarat reported a big spike in fresh COVID-19 cases (all variants), their highest since May-June 2021.

State	Omicron Cases, as on December 29
Maharashtra	252
Delhi	238
Gujarat	97
Telangana	62
Tamil Nadu	34

Source: Media reports

Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, and Haryana have also imposed a fresh set of restrictions ahead of New Year’s eve.

Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, imposed a level-I (Yellow alert) under graded response action plan (GRAP) in the national capital on December 28. Under the new restrictions, cinema halls and gyms will stay closed, and restaurants and clubs shall be open till 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, Goa has made a negative COVID-19 test report or double vaccination certificate mandatory for attending any function in Goa this December 31. Haryana too has made double vaccination certificates mandatory in order to enter any restaurant and clubs in the state.

Correction: The previous headline of the article incorrectly mentioned that all bars, restaurants, pubs, resorts and clubs will be closed in Mumbai till January 7.

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