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MP to impose 2 day lockdown every week in districts with high Covid-19 incidence
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also announced night curfew between 8 pm and 5 am in all 52 districts of the state.
The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday decided to impose complete lockdown for two days every week in districts with high coronavirus infection incidence while a night curfew will be clamped in all 52 districts of the state amid alarming surge in Covid-19 cases.
The announcement was made by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday evening after reviewing the Covid-19 situation.
“Total lockdown will be imposed for two days in a week in districts with high infection to stop corona infection in the state. Apart from essential services, all other activities will be prohibited. Lockdown will be imposed on Sunday and the day either preceding or following Sunday i.e. Saturday or Monday which will be decided by the district crisis management group in such districts. The night curfew will be imposed in all the districts from 8 pm to 5 am,” said an official communiqué quoting the CM.
However, there was no official information about the districts with high infection.
A complete lockdown has been observed on Sundays across the state since July 8.
The announcement came on a day when the state reported 710 new Covid-19 cases, taking the count to 23,310 including 6,888 active cases. With 17 more fatalities recorded during the day, the death toll rose to 738, according to the state health department bulletin released late on Monday evening.
Indore district reported the maximum number of cases (6,115), followed by Bhopal (4,363 cases), Gwalior (1,706) and Morena (1,332). There are least six other districts which have more than 500 Covid cases each.
Of the738 deaths, 295 have been recorded in Indore district, 138 in Bhopal and 71 in Ujjain.
As per the communique released by the CM’s office, “all offices of the state and Union government will function with 30 to 50 % capacity except for the infection-free districts where offices will function to their full strength.
Private offices and commercial establishments will also function with 30% to 50% capacity. In case of any corona patient is found at private offices and commercial establishments, they will be closed for 7 days.”
The CM said action would be taken against any government officer and employee who didn’t wear masks, didn’t follow physical distancing or violated the Corona guidelines in any way.
A review of rising corona infections in the state revealed that one of the main reasons for the spread of infection was the gathering of people.
The CM made an appeal to people to celebrate all upcoming festivals including Raksha Bandhan and Eid at home. “No permission will be granted for celebration of festivals in public”, he said.
