Ever since the deadly coronavirus global health scare began, 2,70,208 people have been diagnosed with the COVID-19 infection in Madhya Pradesh, as per the reports. One death was reported in the last 24 hours from Khargone district. With this, the Covid-19 death toll in MP has now increased to 3,891.
Keeping this in view, Madhya Pradesh has imposed a new set of curbs in a bid to contain the massive spread of the deadly virus.
New Set Of Curbs
Amid ever-increasing Covid-19 cases in the state, the Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday ordered to impose night curfew in its capital city Bhopal and also in Indore starting today at 10 pm. It will remain in place till Thursday morning. Only essential services and commodities will be allowed during the curfew hours, CM Chouhan has said.
In addition to that, the authorities also ordered that markets in 8 cities-Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Ratlam, Burhanpur, Chhindwara, Betul, Khargone to shut at 10 pm. “There won’t be curfew in these cities,” informed the Madhya Pradesh government.
What The Chief Minister Said
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had pre-empted this situation to curb virus spread in these cities.
“Look at the rise in infection cases. Tough measures will be taken to flatten the curve. Night curfew might be clamped in Bhopal and Indore from Sunday or Monday,” Chouhan had said during a meeting held on last Friday to review the coronavirus situation in the state.
Madhya Pradesh Travel Guidelines
On Monday this week, the MP government issued directions calling for a seven-day quarantine for those travelling from any other state including Maharashtra or even residents of MP itself. Officials also clarified that there will always be scope for a case-to-case relaxation. Movement is being allowed for working in establishments on either side or any other dire emergency.
Owing to the rising COVID cases, MP had imposed curbs last month itself. However, among neighboring districts, only Chhindwara had strictly imposed the no certificate no entry rule. After the fresh order by the state’s home department, all the districts of MP will now have the same norm.
This means either a resident of Maharashtra passes with a Covid certificate or stays under quarantine wherever possible, said bureaucrats in MP contacted by TOI. The practical difficulties will be dealt with, as and when encountered, officials said. The move is expected to affect traffic between the two states.
For Passengers Arriving By Flight From Maharashtra
Passengers arriving by flight from Maharashtra will have to produce the latest coronavirus negative report on arrival at Indore as well as Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, local authorities said on Monday. The rule was announced as new cases upsurged in the neighbouring states in the last few days. Indore district magistrate Manish Singh issued guidelines which said passengers coming from Maharashtra must produce a negative report of RT-PCR test carried out no more than 48 hours before.
In Bhopal, district authorities issued similar guidelines, saying passengers should produce negative coronavirus report with the test carried out no more than 72 hours before.
Indore authorities also said that those passengers who do not have negative RT-PCR test reports will have to undergo the test at their own expense at the airport. If they test positive, they will have to stay in home quarantine until they are free of the infection.
Pockets in MP like the Pench tiger reserve or Pachmarhi hill station are among the favourite tourist destinations for those in Vidarbha. The Vidarbha region borders six districts of Madhya Pradesh – Chhindwara, Seoni, Balaghat, Betul, Khandwa, Burhanpur. A large number of people travel to Nagpur from cities like Jabalpur, Satna Narisnghpur too for medical treatment. The government’s move now is expected to hit tourism in Madhya Pradesh, say resort owners according to TOI’s report. Moreover doctors in Nagpur say healthcare in towns of the neighouring state can be affected too due to the curbs.
A letter has been sent to all the resort owners in Pench by the police. It says they will have to submit a report about the tourists each day by 6pm and guests should be only allowed with a Covid negative report through RTPCR test.
“The sudden announcement of restrictions from both sides of the border has drastically affected our business for this week and the weeks ahead. On an average, 50% bookings are being cancelled. This leaves us in a tough spot because overheads are fixed and they amount to almost 70% of our operational costs. Since 90% of the tourism is from Nagpur, one can understand the scale of business getting hit,” TOI quoted Sandeep Singh, a member of Pench Jungle Lodges’ Association.
Dr Anup Marar, convener of Vidarbha Hospitals’ Association (VHA), said the curb can affect patient flow from MP. Many also come for getting COVID treated.
District collector of Chhindwara Saurav Kumar Suman told TOI that entry to workplaces will be subject to employers’ responsibility. At the Raymond’s unit across the border, the employer will have to ensure that the workers don’t go out of the plant. In Burhanpur, passes will be issued for workers crossing the border.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Chouhan held a meeting with Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and asked for the supply of more COVID-19 vaccines and help in other health-related issues in the state.