New COVID-19 strain: This state declares night curfew from tomorrow; check details

Amid new coronavirus variant spreading in Britain, this Indian state has announced night curfew from Tuesday.

Amid mounting fears about a new coronavirus variant spreading in Britain, a state government in India on Monday announced night curfew from Tuesday. The mutated variant of the coronavirus has led to a surge in the infection rate in the UK.

The Maharashtra government has declared a night curfew in municipal corporation areas of the state from December 22 to January 5 as a precautionary measure. According to an official statement, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting in light of the situation in the UK.

It was decided at the meeting that a night curfew will be imposed in municipal corporation areas between 11 and 6 am from December 22 to January 5 as a precautionary measure, it said.

The statement said it has also been decided to put in institutional quarantine for 14 days those who arrive at the state's airports from European and West Asian countries. Passengers coming to Maharashtra, the state worst-hit by COVID-19, from other countries will be home quarantined, it added. 

Maharashtra on Monday reported 2,234 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 18,99,352. As per the state health department, a total of 55 deaths push the death toll to 48,801.

The Centre suspended all flights from and to the UK from December 22 to December 31 joining several other nations that sealed their borders to the UK, as Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government is alert and there is no need for panic.

All passengers coming from the UK through flights till Tuesday (December 22) will have to undergo an RT-PCR test for COVID-19 on arrival at the airports "as a measure of abundant precaution", the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also issued a directive to all airlines that passengers coming from the UK should not be allowed to board their flights from any other city to India during the suspension period. The regulator said the suspension -- which comes in Christmas week -- would not be applicable on cargo flights.

Several countries, including France, Canada, Turkey, Belgium, Italy and Israel, have banned flights from the UK with the British government warning that the potent new strain of the virus was "out of control" and imposing a stringent new stay-at-home lockdown from Sunday.