INDIA on Saturday (9) reported 159,632 new Covid-19 cases as the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly across its territory, pushing a number of states to impose fresh restrictions.
The western state of Maharashtra, which has been one of the most affected ones, said it would shut swimming pools and gyms from Monday (10) while schools and colleges have been already closed till February 15 after the daily cases rose to more than 41,000.
The state government has said that only people who have taken both doses of the coronavirus vaccine will be allowed into private offices while only 50 per cent of the total workforce will be allowed to work in the facilities.
In Maharashtra’s neighbour Gujarat, authorities have extended night curfew hours and scrapped leave for all healthcare workers.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was set to chair a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in the state late on Sunday (9), sources in the Indian government said.
The country’s health ministry reported 327 fresh deaths, taking the official death toll in the pandemic to more than 483,000. The total infections stand at 35.52 million.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images
