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Chhattisgarh bars Holi Milan events in Raipur, quarantine must for outsiders
Chhattisgarh reported 1,443 cases in the last 24 hours, next only to Maharashtra’s 16,600 fresh cases.
Chhattisgarh, one of the five states powering the surge of Covid-19 cases, has announced restrictions on entry of people to tourist spots and banned social, political and religious programmes in state capital Raipur, an official statement by the government said on Thursday.
The new set of guidelines issued by the Raipur district administration also mandates that people entering the capital from other states would have to spend seven days in home quarantine before they can step out.
An official said according to the guidelines, Holi Milan celebrations or other public gatherings have been banned, although ‘Holika Dahan’, a religious ritual associated with the festival, has been allowed to take place on the condition that a maximum of only five people are present.
Thursday’s restrictions in Raipur comes after a spike in Covid-19 cases in the state. According to data compiled by the Union health ministry, Chhattisgarh reported 1,443 cases in the last 24 hours, next only to Maharashtra’s 16,600 fresh cases. On Sunday, Chhattisgarh ordered all educational institutions and anganwadis to remain closed till further notice.
India recorded 53,476 new Covid-19 cases, 26,490 recoveries, and 251 deaths in the last 24 hours. Apart from Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, the other states that have reported a significant increase in Covid cases are Karnataka, Punjab and Gujarat. These five states account for 77% of the total cases in the country.
The Union home ministry earlier this week gave states a free hand to introduce restrictions on people to deal with the pandemic, allowing state governments to impose their local restrictions such as night curfew or weekend restrictions in the district, sub-district or city level based on the situation. States are, however, not allowed to stop inter-state and intra-state movement.
“All kinds of religious festivals, cultural and political programmes, sports, exhibitions and fairs, functions and public programmes have been banned. Religious places will remain open for only paying obeisance at personal level and people can enter places of worship individually, but organising any kind of group or public programmes will be prohibited there,” the Chhattisgarh government’s statement said.
Programmes such as marriage, funeral, etc will be allowed with the maximum presence of 50 persons, and adherence to Covid-19 guidelines, such as wearing masks and social distancing will be mandatory.
