Covid: Madhya Pradesh govt extends ongoing ‘Janata Curfew’ in state till May 15

The Madhya Pradesh government announced on Thursday that the ongoing ‘Janata Curfew’ imposed in the state to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the state has been further extended till May 15 with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan adding the spread of the disease can only controlled if the chain of transmission is broken. The curfew was earlier supposed to end on May 7.

Addressing a virtual conference on the ‘Kill Corona-2 Campaign’, Chouhan said, “The only way to control Covid-19 is by breaking the chain of transmission. Therefore, I request that everything in the state should be stopped till May 15. The janata curfew should be followed strictly. We cannot keep everything closed till eternity. But we can’t open if the positivity rate goes beyond 18%.”

Chouhan urged residents living in both rural and urban areas of Madhya Pradesh to follow the curfew strictly for a few more days and also take a pledge to stay inside their homes.

The chief minister said weddings and other public gatherings should not take place this entire month as they have proven to be super spreader events and all public representatives should motivate people to not organise such events.

Chouhan also urged all political parties in the state to end their differences and work together against this crisis adding differences can be dealt with later.

Madhya Pradesh has so far recorded 624,985 Covid-19 disease cases and 6,074 more deaths, according to the state health department’s bulletin. The recoveries in the state are nearing 530,000 while active cases have climbed to 89,244.

On Wednesday, 12,319 cases, 71 deaths and 9,643 recoveries were seen.