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Maharashtra revises restrictions; beauty salons, gyms will function at 50% capacity
Only fully vaccinated people will be allowed inside the gyms and the beauty salons, the revised order clarified.
The Maharashtra government on Sunday revised its earlier order of restrictions to be imposed in the state from Monday, January 10, and allowed beauty salons and gyms to operate at 50% capacity. In a notification on Saturday, the government ordered all beauty salons, spas, gyms to be closed. Only hair-cutting salons were allowed to run business at half capacity. A day later, the government revised the order and put beauty salons and gyms under the category of institutions allowed to function at a restricted capacity. Only fully vaccinated people will be allowed inside the gyms and the beauty salons, the revised order clarified.
Amid the increasing threat of Omicron which is apparently driving the ongoing surge of Covid cases, Maharashtra has imposed a night curfew between 11pm to 5am, starting from Monday. Apart from night curfew, which has again become normal in many states, the government put some curbs. Schools and colleges will remain closed till February 15. Shopping malls, restaurants will operate between 8am and 10pm at 50% capacity. Gyms, beauty salons and hair-cutting salons are now permitted to reduce their capacity by 50% and function.
On Saturday, Maharashtra reported 41,434 new Covid-19 cases and 133 new Omicron cases. Mumbai's daily caseload remained around 20,000 on Saturday. Before the restrictions were imposed on Saturday, health minister Rajesh Tope said that the government was not mulling new restrictions as the demand for beds and oxygen in the state is under control. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the aim of the government is to curtail unnecessary crowding and not lockdown. "The fact is that no restrictions will be effective unless we all adhere to Covid protocols," Thackeray said.
