Covid-19 lockdown in Bhopal, Haryana night curbs begin

While a complete week-long lockdown was announced in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, the Haryana government decided to impose night curfew across the state.

More regions were forced to reintroduce curbs on social movement due to a sharp rise in coronavirus disease cases, as India recorded a daily surge in infections with 160,676 new cases on Monday.

An aerial view of the city during complete lockdown imposed due to the resurgence of coronavirus, in Bhopal.(ANI Photo)

While a complete week-long lockdown was announced in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, the Haryana government decided to impose night curfew across the state.

These are the latest in a string of regions across the country that have again started enforcing curbs ranging from night curfews to limits on public assembly as they struggle to reel from the second wave of Covid-19.

On Monday, Bhopal district collector said Avinash Lavaniya said a lockdown has been imposed from 9pm on Monday till 6am on April 19. “The emergency services including medical and health, transportation of goods, movement of students for examination, construction work, vegetable and fruit vendors will be allowed during the curfew,” Lavaniya said.

The state recorded 6,489 new cases on Monday, taking the state’s tally to 344,634, according to HT’s dashboard. Till Sunday, there were 5,234 active Covid-19 cases in Bhopal. “Despite all efforts, the Covid 19 cases are not coming down. To contain the spread, Corona curfew has become important,” the Bhopal collector said. State medical education minister Vishwas Sarang said that anyone found violating the lockdown norms would be booked under Section 144 of the CrPC.

Night curfew from 9pm to 5am imposed in Haryana.(PTI | Representational image)

In Haryana, the state government clamped a night curfew with immediate effect on a day that the state recorded 3,818 new cases. The state has recorded more than 21,000 infections in the last nine weeks. “Night curfew between 9 pm and 5 am will be imposed from tonight and will remain in force till further orders,” state home and health minister Anil Vij told PTI.

Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, Sanjeev Kaushal, in an order, said that it is imperative to put in place strict measures for social distancing to contain the spread of the virus.

“A lot of non-essential movement of people and vehicles has been reported during night hours,’’ the order said. “No person shall leave their home or move on foot or by vehicle or travel or stand or roam around on any road or public places during the above said hours.”

Emergency services like hospitals, pharmacies and ATMs will be allowed to function round the clock, the order said. The order further states that there are no curbs on interstate and intrastate movement of essential and non-essential goods. “All vehicle and persons in bona fide transit shall be allowed to pass, but only after verification of point of origin and destination,” the order said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said his government would impose a lockdown, if the necessity arises. The state recorded 9,579 new cases on Monday, taking its total tally to 1,074,869.