As the number of cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is going down in Madhya Pradesh, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Tuesday that the state will begin the unlocking process from June 1. The lockdown-like restrictions, referred to as ‘Janata Curfew’ by the state government, are currently in force till May 31 in a majority of the districts, including the state capital of Bhopal. These restrictions have proven to break the chain of transmission as the daily cases and positivity rate have significantly reduced.
Speaking at the state cabinet’s meeting, Chouhan said, “Madhya Pradesh is on the verge of gaining control over Covid-19. Friends, this has been made possible due to your hard work along with the efforts of the public, the crisis management committee and the administration.”
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Chouhan added that Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday recorded only 2424 new Covid-19 cases and 7,373 people recovered from the viral disease. The state’s recovery rate has climbed to 92.68% and nearly 15 districts are reporting less than 10 cases. Tuesday’s case count in the state is 512 less than that of Monday’s when 2936 people tested positive for the coronavirus disease. Last week, the daily cases in Madhya Pradesh hovered between 3,000-5,000.
Amid fears of an upcoming third wave of the pandemic in India, the chief minister said a process has to be formulated for the same and ministers who are also in charge of districts, should speak to the respective crisis management committee and plan on how the curfew will open. Chouhan added testing will continue with 75,000-80,000 samples being tested for Covid-19 every day in order to ensure that no infected person becomes a super spreader.
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Chouhan once again appealed to the state’s residents to follow Covid appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, washing and sanitising hands and said this is the only way through which cases will start declining. “If there are fewer people infected with Covid-19, arrangements will be made for contract tracing and their treatment in Covid care centres,” the Madhya Pradesh CM said.
With a view to ensure better handling of the pandemic, the state government will form five committees which will include members of the council of ministers, Chouhan further said. These committees will manage vaccination drives, Covid-related practices, make arrangements for medical oxygen and other essentials, hospital management and public awareness about Covid-19.
