A minister in Maharashtra said on Friday that the stage of imposing a fresh lockdown in the state is approaching, but chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will take a final call on it. The remarks by state minister Vijay Wadettiwar came as Maharashtra recorded a huge spike in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases, with 8,067 people testing positive for the infection.

“The stage of lockdown is approaching. But the chief minister will take a decision on when to impose it,” Wadettiwar, the minister for disaster management, told reporters.

Decision on restrictions on travel and colleges will be taken together, he added.

Amid the spread of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, Maharashtra saw a sharp rise in daily Covid-19 infections in the last 11 days of 2021. This prompted the state government to issue fresh guidelines, in which it capped the attendance at gatherings in open or closed spaces at 50.

“In case of marriages or any other social, political or religious event, the maximum number of attendees shall be restricted to 50 persons. The maximum number of attendees is restricted to 20 in funerals,” according to an order issued by the Maharashtra government on Thursday.

The order further said, “In any other part of the state which are tourist spots that attract a large crowd of people such as beaches, open grounds, etc, the competent authority may as deem appropriate, impose section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973.”

The Mumbai police on Friday (New Year’s Eve), prohibited people from visiting beaches, open grounds, sea faces, promenades, gardens, parks or similar public places from 5 pm to 5 am. The restrictions will remain in place till January 15 in view of rising cases of Covid-19 and its Omicron variant, the police said.

Meanwhile, painting a grim picture, Maharashtra additional chief secretary (Health), Dr Pradeep Vyas, claimed on Friday that the state may see two lakh active Covid-19 cases by third week of January.