By PTI
BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh reported 4,986 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the state’s biggest single-day spike, which pushed its infection count to 3,32,206, said an official.
The toll rose to 4,160 with 24 deaths being recorded in the last 24 hours, the official said, adding that MP has, in April so far, added 36,695 cases and 174 deaths.
He said 2,126 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recoveries in Madhya Pradesh to 2,87,869, the department said.
“With 912 new cases, Indore’s caseload went up to 77,592 and Bhopal’s rose to 57,334 with the addition of 736 cases. Indore reported five deaths during the day, taking its toll to 994. Bhopal’s toll rose by one to touch 645. Indore and Bhopal have 7,425 and 5,088 active cases respectively,” he said.
Overall, the number of active cases in the state rose to 32,707, the official pointed out.
With 37,538 samples being examined, the number of tests in Madhya Pradesh crossed 67.03 lakh.
Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 3,32,206, new cases 4986, death toll 4,160, recovered 2,95,339, active cases 32,707, number of tests so far 67,03,934.
Meanwhile, the state government on Saturday decided to extend the lockdown in several cities, including commercial hub Indore, till April 19.
Besides, the lockdown in some other districts has been extended till April 22, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora informed.
At present, the lockdown is in force in all urban areas of the state till 6 am on Monday.
The decision to extend the lockdown was taken at a meeting held by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan with district crisis management committees via video conferencing.
Speaking on the extension, Rajora said, “Lockdown will be in force in Indore city, Rau, Mhow, Shajapur city and some districts like Ujjain, Barwani, Rajgarh and Vidisha till 6am on April 19.”
Lockdown will be in force from April 12 till the morning of April 22 in Balaghat, Narsinghpur and Seoni districts as well as Jabalpur city, and orders under section 144 of CrPC will be issued by respective collectors soon, Rajora added.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state might reach one lakh by the end of this month given the spike in infection count.
The state has 32,707 active cases.
“The way there is a spike in coronavirus infection cases, the number of active cases in Madhya Pradesh may reach one lakh by the end of this month. We will try to stop this in the middle as we have started adopting some measures, including lockdown,” he told reporters.
The state government has decided to open COVID Care Centres in all the districts due to the rise in cases, Chouhan said, adding that in Bhopal and Indore, a team under Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora is trying to identify buildings, where such facilities could be set up.
The supply of oxygen for medical purposes has been maintained in the state, he added.
“Till three days back, 60 metric tonnes of oxygen was supplied everyday. On Friday, 180 MT of oxygen was supplied in the state. We mainly get the supply of oxygen from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and a small amount from Maharashtra. We have also started getting it from Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) steel plant,” Chouhan said.
Oxygen should be used judiciously and as per requirement, the chief minister added.
Recently, several cities in MP had reported a shortage of Remdesivir injections that are used in the treatment of infected patients.
“We have got 2,000 injections (Remdesivir) a day before yesterday. The state government has decided to purchase one lakh injections and it has started getting them,” the CM said.
According to Chouhan, the state government is also making arrangements for ventilators.
“We will soon get 350 ventilators from the Centre,” he said.
Chouhan appealed to the people to stay at home and avoid venturing out unnecessarily to help curb the spread of the virus.
“We should adopt appropriate behaviour to protect ourselves from the pandemic. People should keep themselves protected,” he said.
The CM is scheduled to hold a virtual meeting with the district crisis management committees to discuss the pandemic situation.
Later in the evening, Chouhan held a meeting with his Cabinet colleagues to get their suggestions to control the infection.
It was informed in the meeting that 60 per cent of beds in government hospitals and 47 per cent of beds in private hospitals for treatment of COVID-19 patients are lying vacant.
Of the total patients in the state, 67 per cent are in home isolation while others remain admitted in hospitals.
Among those hospitalised, 18 per cent are on oxygen support while eight per cent on ventilator support.
Madhya Pradesh on Saturday reported 4,986 COVID-19 cases, the state’s biggest single-day spike, which pushed its infection count to 3,32,206, said an official.
