Omicron Scare: Mumbai Extends Implementation Of Section 144 Till New Year's Eve

Section 144 in Mumbai till December 31: The Police Commissioner of Greater Mumbai issued an order to extend the imposition of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the city till December 31, 2021 midnight. The measure has been taken keeping in mind a rise in Omicron cases across Mumbai.

“Section 144 will be imposed from 0001 hrs of 16 December and will be in force till 2400 hrs of 31 December,” states the order.

As per city municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani, two special squads will be positioned in each of the twenty-four wards in the city and depending on the situation the number of special squads would be increased. The step has been taken to ensure proper implementation of the order issued by Mumbai Police.

Mumbai had earlier banned large gatherings for 48 hours due to the rising number of cases of the new coronavirus variant on December 11. Section 144 of CrPC was issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) to prevent danger to human life from the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 as well as the law-and-order situation against the backdrop of violence that took place in Amravati, Malegaon, and Nanded. Read more about it here.

With the extension of Section 144, people are expected to observe Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB). A notice defining the same was released on November 27, 2021.

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What are the CAB guidelines issued in Mumbai?

The Covid Appropriate behaviour includes full vaccination of all the persons connected to the organisation of any program- service providers as well as the guests, participants and customers.

The requirement of being fully vaccinated extends to shops, malls, events, establishments and use of public transportation as well.

Events, programs, or gatherings in closed or open spaces cannot have people more than fifty percent of the total capacity. If more than a thousand people are present at any event, then the local disaster management authority must be informed.

The people travelling to Maharashtra should either carry a certificate of full vaccination or an RT-PCR negative test certificate valid for seventy-two hours, upon arrival.

Omicron cases surge in Maharashtra

Maharashtra had recorded its first Omicron case on December 4, 2021, when a man from Kalyan Dombivli returned from South Africa and tested positive for COVID-19, genome sequencing of his sample confirmed Omicron infection. On December 15, the state reported four new cases of the new coronavirus variant, taking the total tally to 32- highest in any state. Out of these 13 cases have been reported in Mumbai, while 10 cases are from the Pimpri Chinchwad area of Pune.

The total tally of Omicron cases in India now stands at 73. According to World Health Organisation, the variant has spread to as many as 63 countries so far.