NIWARI: A case has been registered against three men, including two COVID-19 patients, for allegedly breaking the quarantine rules and spreading the disease at a wedding in Madhya Pradesh's Niwari district, police said on Friday.
Two of the accused Arun Mishra and Swarup Singh, who are infected with coronavirus, were placed in a COVID-19 care centre in Prithvipur on Thursday, while the third accused Ranjan Nayak is absconding, inspector Surendra Singh Yadav of Jeron police station said.
A case has been registered against the trio under relevant sections of the IPC and Disaster Management Act, the official said.
Mishra, who had tested positive for the COVID-19 on April 27, was asked to isolate himself at home and had been prescribed medicines by government doctors, he said.
However, Mishra instead attended a wedding with Singh in Luhurguva village, around 40 km from the district headquarters, on April 29 and even served food to the guests, the official said.
"We have also booked Nayak, the brother of the man whose wedding the duo attended, as he knew that they had been infected," Yadav said, adding that the trio are in the age group of 25 to 30.
Luhurguva village has been sealed and declared a red zone, as at least 40 people have tested positive for COVID-19 after the wedding, the inspector said.
Mishra and Singh had also taken part in the wedding procession of Nayak's brother to a village in Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, he added.
The development comes a day after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said the only way to break the chain of transmission and contain COVID-19 cases is for people to "close down everything" till May 15.
Chouhan also announced providing free treatment for COVID-19 for patients from poor financial background, common citizens and middle class population in Madhya Pradesh, an official of the state's public relations department said.
To facilitate this, a package will be unveiled on Friday under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, he quoted the chief minister as saying at a meeting.
Also, the government plans to sign an agreement with private hospitals for free CT scan and other medical tests of patients, the official said.
At the meeting with senior bureaucrats, the chief minister reviewed the coronavirus situation in the state.
"Corona is a big crisis for humanity. The only option to control the corona is to break the chain of infections."
"We cant close down everything for long. We have to make peoples life easy. Therefore, till May 15, we should close down everything. Strictly follow janata curfew and break the chain of infection, Chouhan said. Currently, Madhya Pradesh is under a slew of restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19."
He said health infrastructure is being readied to deal with a possible third wave of the coronavirus infection.
"Oxygen plants are being set up in each district. A total of 95 such plants will be established in the state," Chouhan said.
He appealed to people to reschedule marriage plans to avoid gathering of guests during the pandemic.
Works under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) should be immediately stopped in villages where even a single coronavirus case has been reported, Chouhan said.
He asked officials to launch a "kill corona campaign" in cities and villages by conducting door-to-door surveys and identifying patients whose treatment can start immediately.
"Open COVID-19 assistance centres in cities for distribution of medical kits," the public relations department official quoted the CM as saying in the meeting.
The chief minister asked rural populace to make their village coronavirus free by ensuring that nobody from outside enters the village before completing the mandatory quarantine period.
For this, he suggested launching the Mera Gaon Corona Mukt Gaon (my village is corona free) campaign.
He directed officials to provide ration free of cost to the poor without insisting on completing formalities like submission of Aadhaar card and giving thumb impression.
The chief minister warned against black marketing of medicines and overcharging of patients by hospitals, and said those indulging in these malpractices will face strict action.
The state on Thursday reported 12,421 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 86 fatalities that raised the tally of infections to 6,37,406 and the toll to 6,160, an official from the state health department said.
At least 12,965 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recoveries in the state to 5,42,632, the official said.
With the addition of 1,792 new cases, Indore's caseload went up to 1,21,694, while the tally in Bhopal rose to 99,639 after 1,584 persons tested positive, he said.
Indore reported eight casualties that took its toll to 1,184 and fatalities in Bhopal rose to 776 after six patients died of the infection, the official said.
Indore and Bhopal are now left with 12,017 and 10,829 active cases, respectively, he said, adding that the state currently has 88,614 active cases.
With 68,102 swab samples tested during the day, the total number tests conducted in the state crossed 81.26 lakh.
Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 6,37,406, new cases 12,421, death toll 6,160, recovered 5,42,632, active cases 88,614, number of tests so far 81,26,921.