By Express News Service
BHOPAL: With the fresh COVID-19 wave showing no signs of slowing down, the Madhya Pradesh government decided on Tuesday to impose night curfew in the two prime COVID-19 hotspots – Indore and Bhopal from Wednesday.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the decision to impose night curfew in the two cities after chairing a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in the state on Tuesday.
Not only will night curfew be imposed in Indore and Bhopal, which have so far formed more than half of the total cases being reported daily in MP, but it has also been decided to shut down all shops by 10 pm in eight other cities and districts, including Ratlam, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Chhindwara, Betul, Burhanpur and Khargone. Out of these districts, Chhindwara, Betul, Burhanpur and Khargone border Maharashtra.
“Particular focus is being put on the ten districts, including Indore and Bhopal,” said Chouhan.
The CM also directed penalizing those not wearing masks through provisions like open jail and monetary fines.
The rising cases of the killer viral infection will also cast shadow on the twin festivals of Holi and Rangpanchami later this month in those districts where more cases are being reported. The meeting decided not to allow community programs and fairs during the twin festivities in districts with more cases.
The additional chief secretary (ACS-Health) Mohd Suleman informed the meeting that MP was contributing to 2.6% of the new cases being reported in the country. While the state’s overall COVID-19 positivity rate was around 4.3%, the same rate in Bhopal and Indore was around 9%.
Meanwhile, in a related development, travelers from Maharashtra arriving in Bhopal and Indore will have to compulsorily carry the negative report of COVID-19 test conducted 72 hours before their arrival. Also, all travelers arriving from Maharashtra in MP will have to undergo compulsory seven days quarantine.
Keeping in mind rising cases of the COVID-19, the Bhopal District Administration has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPc. All rallies, processions and protests have been banned by the Bhopal district administration.
The Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha’s ongoing budget session, which is slated to conclude on March 26 will now conclude early after passing of the budget, as all the parties have resolved to it, keeping in mind rising COVID-19 cases.
According to the state health bulletin on Tuesday, the state reported 817 new cases over the last 24 hours, out of which 460 cases (56%) were reported from Indore and Bhopal only. While Indore reported 264 cases, Bhopal reported 196 cases. The other districts, where significant cases were reported, included 44 cases in Jabalpur, 30 in Gwalior, 27 in Ujjain, 25 in Ratlam and 21 in Chhindwara. The COVID-19 positivity rate, however, declined slightly from 5.4% on Monday to 5.2% on Tuesday.