Coronavirus: Madhya Pradesh orders 60-hour lockdown in urban areas
The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday ordered a 60-hour lockdown in all urban areas. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday said that "appropriate action" will be taken for cities where infections are rising. The CM's office also stressed the importance of COVID-19 appropriate behavior, such as wearing face masks, maintaining physical distancing, etc. Here are more details.
Lockdown from 6 pm on Friday-6 am on Monday
CM Chouhan said on Thursday that all urban areas in the state will go into a lockdown from 6 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday. "For cities where cases have increased, appropriate action will be taken after a meeting of the crisis management group. We are making containment areas in big cities," ANI quoted the CM as saying.
MP reported over 4,000 new cases yesterday
The move is aimed at controlling the steep rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. Infections have been rising steadily since reporting under-150 single-day infections in late February. On Wednesday, the state reported 4,043 new cases. The state's tally has now climbed to 3,18,014. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,87,869 patients have recovered. 13 deaths took the state's death toll to 4,086.
Indore, Bhopal worst-hit in MP
The state government has imposed lockdowns in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, and Gwalior on Sundays over the past several weeks. It had also extended curbs to other cities last Sunday. Indore and Bhopal continue to record the highest daily spike in cases, with 866 and 618 new cases respectively on Wednesday. Indore now has 6,281 active cases, while Bhopal has 4,681.
Not getting infected biggest service to society: CMO
The CMO said in a tweet in Hindi, "In view of the pandemic, use face masks, maintain social distancing and sanitize hands frequently...Not getting infected with coronavirus is the biggest service toward the state today." MP is working to have more containment zones that will be strictly sealed in cities with a spike in cases, the CM said.
India reported record 1.26 lakh new cases today
India on Thursday reported a record spike of 1,26,789 fresh cases and 685 new fatalities. The total tally has risen to 1,29,28,574 COVID-19 cases, which includes 1,66,862 deaths, 9,10,319 active cases, and 1,18,51,393 recoveries. Infections have been rising steadily since mid-February when daily new cases had dropped under 9,000. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a key meeting to review the situation on Thursday.
