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.
Madhya Pradesh has already offered corona curfew relaxations, albeit slightly, in half a dozen districts including Jhabua, Alirajpur, Bhind, Satna, Khandwa and Burhanpur. While the state government will roll out a phased unlock process from June 1, the Chief Minister has asked the public to send suggestions by May 31.
Chouhan already has said that unlock is imminent as they can’t keep prohibitive provisions in place indefinitely. The state government has been proceeding towards unlock after the state recorded a slump in Covid-19 fresh cases which dwindled to 2,422 in last 24 hours. Since March last year, a total of 7,69,696 persons had contracted infection and till date, 7,13,376 have recovered from the disease, state’s health bulletin said.
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.
In state capital Bhopal, the city has been divided into four categories—Red (20 cases and above), Orange (15-20 cases), Yellow 5-10 cases) and Green (less than 5 cases) on the basis of daily covid19 cases. Red zones will continue to be containment zones and won’t be allowed any relaxation since June 1, collector Avinash Lavaniya said.
Shivraj Singh 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.
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.
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