Hyderabad: Telangana High Court directed the State Government to impose restrictions on public gatherings during festivals and New Year celebrations in view of Omicron. High Court asked the State Government on Thursday to issue orders within three days to curb public gatherings during Christmas, New Year celebrations and Sankranthi.

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice N Tukaramji gave the directions while hearing petitions about Covid – 19 situations. The petitioners brought to the Court’s notice that cases of Omicron, the new variant of Covid – 19, are on the rise in the state.

They also submitted that during official functions, political programmes and celebrations, basic precautionary measures like wearing of masks are not being followed. They also told the Court that in the coming days, there will be more public gatherings for festivals and New Year celebrations.

Responding to these submissions, the Court asked the Government to take necessary steps to prevent large public gatherings. It pointed out that states like Delhi and Maharashtra have already imposed the restrictions.

The Court also suggested that the authorities conduct Covid – 19 tests on the state borders and at railway and bus stations to check the spread of Omicron.

The State Government was directed to implement the guidelines issued by the Centre on December 21^st. Telangana reported a spike in Omicron cases on Wednesday as many as 14 new Omicron cases were reported the State’s tally to 38.