Start of second Covid-19 wave? States impose fresh set of curbs, curfews are back

Several states on Monday announced additional restrictions to arrest the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), as a spike in cases continued in the northern and westerns states.

A day after Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray urged people in the state to follow personal protection measures, the government on Monday announced that no person travelling from Delhi-NCR, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Goa will be allowed to enter the state without a negative RT-PCR test report conducted 72 to 96 hours before landing in the state.

Delhi is in the midst of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, recording an average of 6,351 new cases per day over the past week. The city has also added more than 100 daily deaths for the past three days, as per the state government’s data.

The Himachal Pradesh government on Monday said that all schools and colleges will remain closed till December 31, and imposed night curfews (8pm to 6am) in the four worst-affected districts -- Mandi, Kangra, Shimla and Kullu -- till December 15.

The Madhya Pradesh government also extended the night curfew to six cities including Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore and Jabalpur.

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In Gujarat, even as the weekend curfew ended in Ahmedabad, the government has imposed night curfews in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara.

The Rajasthan government, which had earlier announced imposition of night curfews in eight districts of the state, has now put in place prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC in several districts of the state. Government and private offices in the state have been directed to function with only 75% of their strength.

Additionally, the state has asked all private hospitals to provide daycare facilities to Covid-19 patients at the government prescribed rates.

Over the past week, most states have reversed the relaxation given to social gatherings such as marriage and political functions.

While Madhya Pradesh restricted the number of guests at a gathering to 250, in Uttar Pradesh, not more than 100 people can attend the event, and 200 in Himachal Pradesh.

In Odisha, places of worship will remain closed till further orders.

The country has witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases in the past fortnight. In Rajasthan, the new positive cases reported over the last four days were half of the active cases in the state. Meanwhile, one-fifth of the total Covid-19 cases in Gujarat have been reported in the past fortnight. Maharashtra, too, is witnessing an increase in daily cases.

On Monday, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country stood at 91,75,640 while the death toll reached 1,34,238.