Chouhan rules out lockdown

Bhopal: Amid rising a record spike in the Covid-19 cases in the state, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday ruled out the possibility of imposing a lockdown and said it was not a solution to contain the surge in infections.

Madhya Pradesh reported 4,986 Covid-19 cases on Saturday, the state's highest single-day spike, which has pushed its infection count to 332,206. While the death toll rose to 4160 after 24 Covid-19 patients succcumbed in the last 24 hours.

"A lockdown is not a solution to Covid-19. Whatever restrictions have been put in place at the local level is a 'Corona curfew' and not a lockdown. Essential services and the financial activities are unobstructed in the state," CM Chouhan said.

The CM also said his government is making 'relentless efforts' to fight the pandemic and sought support from the people of the state. "If we have to combat the infection, we have to be aware first," he said.

Chouhan on Saturday said that the number of active Covid-19 cases in the state might reach one lakh by the end of April. The total active cases currently stand at 32,707, in the state.

"We will try to stop this in the middle as we have started adopting some measures", he added.

Madhya Pradesh has added 36,695 cases and 174 deaths to its tally in April so far. The Covid-19 caseload in Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur and Gwalior stands at 77,592, 57,334 21,544 and 18,330 respectively.

As the infection is spreading very fast to every nook in the state, the positivity rate is also increasing. It is 31 per cent in Katni district and 24 per cent in the state capital Bhopal while it is 20 per cent in some districts of the state.

Taking measures against Coronavirus disease, a lockdown has been placed by the local administration till April 19 in the 11 districts including Indore, Ujjain, Shajapur, Barwani, Vidisha, Rajgarh, Chhindwara, Betul and Khargaon etc, while Jabalpur city, Balaghat, Seoni and Narshinghpur will be under the lockdown till April 22. However, some essential services and activities are exempted from the lockdown. The state government has already announced the lockdown for every Saturday and Sunday in every town of the state.

Chouhan also said that state government had decided to open Covid Care Centres in all the districts. The supply of oxygen for medical purposes had been maintained in the state and the more arrangements were also being made for ventilators and supply of Remdesvir drug, he also added.

According to the Union ministry of health and family welfare, Madhya Pradesh is among the 10 states–Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan–which have shown a steep rise in the daily new Covid-19 cases.