In an unusual and worrying case in Madhya Pradesh, 26 employees of a national Hindi daily including editorial and non-editorial workers have tested positive for Covid-19.
On Monday, the district administration sealed the building of the newspaper at Press Complex in MP Nagar area of Bhopal.
It all started when a reporter covering the health beat fell ill and tested positive for Covid-19 on July 9. The same day, all the employees were tested and around a dozen reported positive. The numbers kept surging and reached 26 on Monday.
While the district administration has sealed the office, the remaining employees who have tested negative are working from home. Those reported positive include news reporters, computer operators, desk staff, peons and others.
None of them is critical, one of the journalists who tested negative told News18.
Several Hindi newspapers had stopped morning meetings and regular work amid the lockdown but soon returned to normal functioning at full strength despite Covid-19 cases rising in the state capital over the past few weeks.
Also, several workers of the Bhopal municipal corporation's public relations wing and some of their family members have tested positive for Covid-19. Ibrahimganj area in Bhopal has been kept under complete lockdown after reporting a surge in cases since Sunday.
The sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) have suggested to the collector, Avinash Lavania, to impose 3-4 days of lockdown in a phased manner in different locations to rein in rising cases. The administration has started efforts to penalise those not wearing masks and shopkeepers who are not following safety guidelines.
Besides, several areas of the city are persistently reporting new cases of infection that have doubled within a few days. And the situation is similar in Indore. According to the state health bulletin of July 12, Bhopal reported 95 cases, and on Monday well over 80 fresh cases were reported by afternoon. On Sunday, Indore had reported 84 cases in addition to 92 cases reported by Monday evening.
Total cases have surged to 17,989 in Madhya Pradesh with 658 deaths.
Since unlock guidelines came into effect, districts like Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Morena and others are reporting a surge in cases. A Sunday lockdown is already in place in Bhopal since July 12.
No more lockdown for now, decides Indore administration
Following a district crisis management committee meeting on Monday, it was decided that for the time being there won’t be any lockdown in Indore district despite a spike in coronavirus cases. The public representatives have suggested that any lockdown imposed again could spell doom for daily wage workers. It was decided, however, that stringent measures will be put in place to discourage crowding. This includes closure of all markets by 8pm. Those holding parties and get-togethers will be penalised.
"The administration has been empowered to resort to stringent measures to keep things in check. In case the situation does not improve, we could move towards lockdown," BJP MP Shankar Lalwani said. The meet decided to continue with the Sunday lockdown.
Jabalpur civic officer booked over wedding function
Also, district police booked Jabalpur municipal corporation’s additional commissioner Rakesh Ayachi under section 188 of CrPC in a bizarre case vindicating some government officers’ dismal approach towards safety norms. Ayachi had gathered well over 50 guests for a wedding in his family on June 30, and later 25 of the guests and hotel staff where the function took place tested positive for Covid-19.
Collector Bharat Yadav who ordered an FIR against the officer was himself present at the wedding along with the several key officers of the district administration. The administration, however, took almost 13 days to book the erring officers and that too when the matter was leaked on social media and locals started raising questions. Jabalpur till Sunday had reported 542 cases of Covvid-19 including 14 deaths.
District administrations in Jabalpur and Gwalior, another hotspot, are pondering a Saturday-Sunday lockdown to control the spread of infection.
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