COVID-19: Mumbai police impose 5 pm to 5 am curbs on visiting beaches, gardens, other public places
Mumbai(PTI): Mumbai Police on Friday issued an order prohibiting people from visiting beaches, open grounds, sea faces, promenades, gardens, parks or similar public places between 5 pm and 5 am daily till January 15 in view of the prevailing coronavirus situation and the emergence of the Omicron variant.
DCP (operations) S Chaitanya issued the order under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which came into force from 1 pm on Friday and will be effective till January 15, unless withdrawn earlier.
"The city continues to be threatened with COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the increase in cases and emergence of the new Omicron variant, and with a view to prevent danger to human life, health and safety and to curb transmission of the virus, people are prohibited from visiting beaches, open grounds, sea faces, promenades, gardens, parks or similar public places from 5 pm to 5 am next day," the order said.
In case of marriages, whether in enclosed or open spaces, the maximum number of attendees shall be restricted to 50 persons, the order said.
"In case of any gathering or programme, whether social, cultural, political or religious, whether in enclosed or open to sky spaces, the maximum number of attendees shall be restricted to 50 persons," it said.
In case of the last rites, only 20 persons will be allowed to remain present.
Those flouting the order will attract punishment under section 188 of the IPC in addition to the penal provisions under the Epidemic Diseases Act and the National Disaster Management Act, the DCP said in the order.
The city police's directive came after the Maharashtra government issued fresh guidelines on Thursday night capping the number of attendees at gatherings in open or closed spaces at 50, following a surge in coronavirus cases in the state.
Earlier, not more than 100 persons in enclosed spaces and 250 persons in open spaces were allowed to attend a marriage function or a social, cultural, political and religious gatherings.
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 5,368 coronavirus cases, a spike of 1,468 cases from a day before. This propelled the state's COVID-19 tally to 66,70,754. The state reported 198 new cases of the Omicron variant, including 190 in Mumbai alone, taking the tally of cases of this latest coronavirus variant in the state up to 450.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
