Maharashtra issues revised air travel guidelines
On December 2nd, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope announced revisions to air travel guidelines for domestic flights. Details will be released by the State government in the next couple of days, amid concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus. This comes a day after the Centre asked the State to align its order with the SOPs issued by the Union Health Ministry. Institutional quarantine has been mandated for passengers from high-risk countries, notably, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
As of December 3rd, the State government confirmed that fully vaccinated domestic fliers will not require the RT-PCR test, but those vaccinated only once or yet to be vaccinated will have to produce a negative RT-PCR test on arrival.
Source: The Hindu, The Times of India
74% adults in Mumbai fully vaccinated
As vaccination in Maharashtra increases, the State government has fully vaccinated 45% of its adult population, with Mumbai leading at 74% of adults fully vaccinated.
In the past three days, the state has carried out 10 lakh vaccinations everyday. Fear of a surge because of the Omicron variant is also a likely reason for the increased vaccination.
Source: The Times of India
Read more: Walk-ins introduced in Mumbai’s vaccination centres to help local residents
Omicron suspects in Maharashtra now 28
On December 2nd, the number of suspects carrying the Omicron variant rose to 28 in Maharashtra, with 10 from Mumbai. Samples from the suspects have been sent for genome sequencing to check for the virus. RT-PCR tests from 6 of the 10 suspects in Mumbai were found with the S-gene, indirectly ruling out the presence of Omicron. Results from the remaining tests will be available soon.
On 2nd, 861 travellers in the state were tested, of which, 25 were international passengers. 28 of the tested travellers were found positive. Those who tested positive were fully vaccinated but are asymptomatic and are being treated at their homes.
Source: The Times of India
Yellow alert issued as city witnesses heavy showers
Mumbai has been experiencing heavy rainfall since December 1st. As per the forecast, heavy rain was expected to hit northern Gujarat and north-west Maharashtra on Thursday. The prediction revealed that Palghar, Thane and Mumbai could be the worst hit areas. Hence, a yellow alert was issued in several areas.
The report by IMD revealed that a cyclonic storm may hit the Andhra Pradesh coast and Odisha, and is likely to move west-northwest and concentrate into a depression over the southeast, adjoining the east-central Bay of Bengal.
As per the updates, drizzling in many parts of Mumbai has been recorded. The city saw rainfall between 70-120mm.
Source: India Today
HoHo buses launch on Tuesday
With the aim of making tourism more convenient for tourists, Maharashtra tourism and environment minister Aaditya Thackeray launched the Hop on Hop off (HoHo) bus service on November 30th.
The HoHo bus services, which are popular across the world, will give tourists, as well as the Mumbaikars, an opportunity to explore the city and take unlimited rides from December 2nd. The service will commence from Gateway of India to Juhu Chowpatty. It will have several tourist spots or halts on the way, with a frequency of 30 minutes.
The famous tourist spots that the route covers includes, CSMT, Byculla Zoo / Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Siddhivinayak Temple, Band Stand Bandra, Juhu Garden, Juhu Chowpatty, Nehru Science Centre/ Nehru Planetarium, Mani Bhavan, Hanging Garden, Aquarium, Museum and Gateway of India.
Source: Outlook India, India Today
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Compiled by Radha Puranik