Maharashtra is heading for a third wave of COVID-19, state health minister Rajesh Tope said.
In the wake of the threat, the government will soon direct police and local administration to register offences to control large gatherings, Tope added.
The administration will also be told to fine those without masks, Tope said.
The state government may introduce more curbs if the virus continues to spread rapidly, he said.
Tope said that despite the surge in cases there has been no pressure on hospitals or on the demand for oxygen. He further urged people to get fully vaccinated.
He further said that schools have been closed in Mumbai, Thane, Pune due to the high positivity rates in the districts. However, there is no proposal yet for the closure of schools in other districts, Tope added.
Yesterday, Tope announced that although a slew of measures including weekend lockdown and night curfew were discussed,there has been no final decision in this regard. He has also ruled out possibility of closure of Mumbai suburban train services. Besides, there will be no ban on intra-district movement.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 36,265 new coronavirus infections including 79 cases of the Omicron variant, the state health department said.
Thirteen fatalities due to the pandemic were also reported in the state since previous evening.
The active cases in the state stood at 1,14,847.
The case fatality rate in the state is 2.08 per cent.
As per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, 20,181 new cases were reported in Mumbai alone.
As many as 8,907 patients were discharged, taking the tally of those recovered in the state so far to 65,33,154. The recovery rate in the state is 96.17 per cent.
Currently 5,85,758 people are in home quarantine and 1368 people are in institutional quarantine.
