Authorities in four districts of Madhya Pradesh and one in Chhattisgarh on Friday announced a lockdown to rein in the coronavirus pandemic amid a rise in cases, PTI reported.
The lockdown in Chhindwara’s urban areas and Ratlam city in Madhya Pradesh came into effect from Thursday 10 pm. It will continue till 6 am on April 5. The Betul district will be placed under lockdown from 10 pm on Friday and urban areas of Khargone district from 8 pm. These restrictions will continue till 6 am on April 5, the officials said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters that separate teams of senior officials have been sent to these four districts to assess the coronavirus situation. They will provide assistance to the local administration to tackle the rising cases, he added.
“In view of the spurt in coronavirus cases in Chhindwara, which shares border with Maharashtra, and to effectively control it, a three-day lockdown has been imposed in the district,” the chief minister said.
On Thursday, the state reported 2,546 coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 2,98,057. So far, 3,998 people have died.
Chhattisgarh
Meanwhile, the administration in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district on Friday announced a complete lockdown from April 6 to 14. Amid a sharp rise in cases, District Collector Sarveshwar Narendra Bhure said it was necessary to break the chain of transmission of the virus.
The district collector urged people to get vaccinated and to get tested if they come in contact with a coronavirus patient.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday directed collectors to decide if they want to impose local lockdowns. As per official figures, Durg district has recorded 10,295 cases in the last two weeks and has 9,883 active cases.
India’s coronavirus surge
India reported 81,466 new coronavirus cases on Friday, data from the health ministry showed on Friday. This is the highest since October 2. The country’s tally jumped to 1,23,03,131, making it the third-most affected globally, behind the United States and Brazil.
India’s caseload began to dip at the start of this year with daily infections falling to less than 20,000 from a peak of over 90,000 in September.
But over the last few weeks, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have recorded a sharp rise in infections.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!