By PTI
RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh reported 5,818 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the state’s highest single-day spike, taking the count of infections to 3,63,796, an official said.
The toll rose by 36 during the day to touch 4,283 and the recovery count was 3,23,201 as 52 people were discharged from hospitals and 1,120 completed home isolation, he added.
The state now has 36,312 active cases, the official said.
“Raipur and Durg districts accounted for 2,287 and 857 of the new cases. While Raipur has 70,691 cases, including 939 deaths, Durg’s tally stands at 41,889, with 781 deaths. Bilaspur saw 342 new cases, Rajnandgaon 341 and Mahasamund 303. Of the deaths reported during the day, 12 took place on Saturday, 19 on Friday and five earlier,” he said.
With 40,875 samples being examined on Saturday, the total number of tests in the state went up to 58,73,615.
State Health Minister TS Singh Deo and Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey on Saturday chaired a meeting of senior officials to review measures being taken to prevent the spread of the infection.
They directed officials to arrange for more beds with oxygen facility in Raipur, increase the number of tests, speed up contact tracing and monitor home isolation compliance.
In the meeting, Priyanka Shukla, the state’s Director for National Health Mission said there were 4,051 beds in 33 dedicated COVID hospitals in the state, which includes 1,341 beds with oxygen facility, 438 HDU (high dependency unit) and 440 ICU (intensive care unit) beds.
Similarly, the 65 COVID care centres have a total of 8,780 beds, including 1,087 beds with oxygen facilities, and 78 private hospitals have 3,134 beds, including 1,052 with oxygen facilities, she said.
Chhattisgarh’s coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 3,63,796, New cases 5,818, Deaths 4,283, Recovered 3,23,201, Active cases 36,312, Tests today 40,875, Total tests 58,73,615.
Meanwhile, in Raipur, the administration has ordered the closure of weekly markets, gyms, and swimming pools, beginning Sunday, an official said on Saturday.
The administration also ordered that shops and business establishments in urban areas of the district will remain open in staggered timings while cinema halls and multiplexes will have to be shut by 8 pm.
On Saturday, Raipur collector S Bharathi Dasan issued fresh guidelines which will come into effect in Raipur and Birgaon municipal corporations and other civic bodies of the district from Sunday, the public relations department official said.
As per the order, the operation of all kinds of temporary and permanent shops, shopping malls, departmental stores, business establishments and food carts will be allowed to remain open from 6 am to 6 pm while restaurants, dhabas and hotels can function between 6 am and 8 pm.
Earlier, the district administration had allowed shops to function till 9 pm and permitted restaurants, hotels and dhabas to remain open till 10 pm for indoor dining.
“All weekly markets, gyms and swimming pools will remain closed till further orders. Cinema halls and multiplexes have been allowed to operate till 8 pm while liquor shops will be opened till 6 pm in the district,” the order said.
Petrol pumps and medicine stores have been exempted from the new set of restrictions, it said.
All businessmen, their employees and customers will have to wear masks and ensure strict compliance with the social distancing protocol in the business premises.
Violation of guidelines would result in the closure of concerned shops for 15 days and attract legal action, the order said.
Raipur district’s caseload stood at 68,404, including 930 deaths, until April 2.
The number of active cases in the district stands at 8,437, as per the official data.
The local administration had already imposed section 144 of the CrPc, which bans the assembly of four or more people, in several districts, including Raipur, Durg, Bastar, Rajnandgaon, Bilaspur and had also announced various restrictions to contain the spread of the infection.
