BHOPAL: With the fresh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of decline, Madhya Pradesh is likely to impose night curfew in its two premier cities Bhopal and Indore from Sunday or Monday night. The two cities have been reporting more than half of the total number of new daily cases in the state.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan dropped enough hints about imposing night curfew in the two cities after chairing a COVID-19 review meeting in Bhopal, which was attended through a video link by the coronavirus control nodal officers-in-charge of all the districts on Friday evening.
"COVID-19 is spreading fast again in the state, which is a cause of concern. The spread of the killer virus has to be stopped. All possible efforts, including public awareness programmes, need to be taken immediately. But if the COVID-19 cases continue to rise, then a night curfew could be imposed in Bhopal and Indore from Sunday or Monday night. Instructions have been issued to ensure that in every public hall, only half of the maximum capacity be allowed," Chouhan said at the meeting.
Elaborating further on the situation on Saturday, Chouhan said, "a final decision will be made about Bhopal and Indore on Monday. We need to particularly focus on 10 districts, which are daily reporting more than 10 cases."
According to the state COVID-19 situation bulletin released on Friday night, the state reported 603 new cases and two deaths. Out of the 603 new cases, around 60% or 357 cases were reported from Indore and Bhopal. While Indore reported 219 cases, Bhopal reported 138 cases. The other districts, which reported significant number of cases, included Jabalpur with 26 cases, Gwalior with 25 cases and Maharashtra's neighbouring Chhindwara with 19 cases.
The CM asked the administration in various districts to encourage people to religiously adhere to all COVID-19 safety norms. In districts such as Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Chhindwara, Burhanpur, Khargone, Ratlam, Ujjain, Betul, Sagar, Rewa, and Khandwa, the police and local municipal bodies should use public address systems on vehicles to ensure that people wear the mask, adhere to social distancing norms, and also adopt all other COVID-19 safety norms.
The CM laid particular emphasis on the districts bordering Maharashtra. "All passengers coming from Maharashtra via air, rail, and road routes need to strictly undergo thermal screening and be made to compulsorily wear masks." The meeting also discussed the possibility of limiting the movement of people from Maharashtra into MP.
With the festival season being close, the CM directed to particularly focus on the thermal screening of migrant workers who have started coming home in various parts of MP from the other states.