The lockdown was extended in various cities and towns of Madhya Pradesh, including capital Bhopal, on Sunday with the COVID-19 cases continuing to surge and the number of active cases constantly increasing in the state.
Bhopal and cities like Chhindwara, Barwani, Dewas and Khargone extended the 'corona curfew' – lockdown for all practical purposes – till May 3 morning, while Jabalpur, Ratlam, Sagar and Guna extended it till May 1 morning. But due to weekend curfew already in place, the lockdown will be practically extended till May 3 morning here too. On Saturday, Betul and Ashoknagar had extended the corona curfew till May 3.
The decision comes on a day when the state reported 13,601 fresh cases and 92 deaths during the preceding hours. Meanwhile, there were local media reports of over 150 bodies being cremated with COVID-19 protocols in capital Bhopal alone during the past 24 hours, though the official figure of death was only five in the duration.
Bhopal reported 1,802 fresh cases in the 24 hours while Indore reported 1,826 cases. Indore reported seven deaths while Gwalior with 1,220 fresh cases, reported 12 deaths.
The active cases in the state has reached 91,548 as of Sunday and is expected to reach one lakh mark by month end. The positivity rate had shown a slight dip during the past two to three days coming down to around 23 per cent from over 24 per cent earlier. The recovery rate has also been improving in the state during the past few days. During the past 24 hours, 11,324 persons recovered from the infection.
Meanwhile, addressing the people of the state, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reiterated that maximum efforts were being made to improve health facilities – especially oxygen supply. “When there is a sudden rush of patients, the arrangements sometimes fall short. We are making all out efforts to continue with and increase oxygen supply with the support of the prime minister and government of India. Indian Air Force and Railways are also helping for that. We will continue to make best efforts, but still there are inconveniences to people for which I apologise,” Chouhan said.
He said that the strategy of remaining indoors by imposing 'janta curfew' and setting up micro-containment zones will help in winning over the pandemic. He also said that apart from free food grains for three months to those below poverty line (BPL), street vendors in urban and rural areas will get an assistance of Rs 1,000 and farmers will get an installment of CM relief scheme soon.
The chief minister urged the family members and kin of COVID-19 patients not to enter the hospital wards as this not only inconveniences the hospital staff, but can also infect the attenders of patients as well others outside with whom these people come in contact. “We have to work to stop the spread of infection, not increase it,” the CM said.
The CM's appeal comes after a warning from Chhatarpur collector that legal action will be initiated upon the relatives of the patients who enter the COVID-19 wards and cause disruptions. There have been reports of people themselves tending to the admitted patients due to shortfall in arrangements, especially that of oxygen.
Reacting to the chief minister’s address, the ex-CM and MP Congress Committee chief, Kamal Nath said that it would have been better if Chouhan would have apologised for the deaths being reported in the state due to failure in taking preventive measures and make adequate arrangements to handle the pandemic. The CM should better openly accept the failure of his government, Nath said.
He said that despite prior warning regarding the second wave, no arrangements and preparations were made and the CM is still only talking about 'making all possible efforts. Nath added that despite specifically knowing about the requirement of medical oxygen, no serious steps were taken to increase the supply. In his previous 15 year stint and even during the last one year, not a single oxygen plant was set up and only boundary walls have been raised on the site in Babai of Hoshangabad where the ground breaking ceremony for a 200 tonne oxygen plant was undertaken in September last year.
Nath also alleged that the government was continuing to put forth false data on oxygen and Ramdesivir injection availability even as the situation has worsened over the past two weeks. He also said that while claiming improvement in positivity rate and recovery, the CM should look at the last rites data across the state to know the scary ground reality.