Mumbai, Dec 24 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday extended Christmas greetings to the people of the state and appealed that celebrations take place keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In a statement, he said due to the rapid spread of the the new Omicron variant, crowding must be avoided.

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"Jesus Christ's teachings were about mutual love and respect. While celebrating the festival, we have to take care of each others health too by following COVID-19 safety norms," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)