Night curfew likely in Bhopal and Indore

New Delhi: In view of the rising coronavirus cases in Bhopal and Indore, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said night curfew might be re-imposed in the two districts from Sunday or Monday. At a review meeting held on Friday to discuss the situation in the state, Chouhan said, "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 said people coming to the state by air, trains and roads from neighbouring Maharashtra, where there is a surge in Covid-19 cases, should be thermally scanned.

He also instructed officials to ensure Covid-19 rules and guidelines are strictly followed by people to prevent the spread of the virus. Chouhan said people should be motivated to take proactive measures, be vigilant and wear masks. Awareness campaigns should be conducted in state districts when needed.

He further added that shopkeepers in districts bordering Maharashtra including Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur will have to take protective measures to prevent the spread of the virus and action should be taken against shopkeepers who do not follow these measures.

The Chief Minister also stressed on the need to motivate people to get both the doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. He said that public awareness campaigns should be conducted, and arrangements should be made to bring more elderly citizens to the vaccination centre.

India records 24,882 Covid cases in 24 hrs

New Delhi: India added 24,882 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours - the highest daily rise in the last 83 days - taking its tally to 1.13 crore cases, the Health Ministry data showed. The number of fresh infections is nearly seven per cent higher than Friday, when the country registered 23,285 cases. Overall, India has now recorded 1,13,33,728 cases since the outbreak a year ago, according to the government data updated today.

In the 24-hour period, India reported 140 deaths linked to the virus taking the total number of fatalities to 1,58,446.

The country's active caseload has reached 2,02,022, which constitutes 1.74 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate dropped to 96.82 per cent.

The number of infections reported today is the highest daily rise since December 20 when as many as 26,624 new infections were recorded.

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu account for 85.6 per cent of the new cases, the government said on Friday. "Five states cumulatively account for 82.96 per cent of the total active cases in the country. Two states - Maharashtra and Kerala- account for 71.69 per cent of India's total active cases," the Health Ministry said.

The situation in Maharashtra, which has consistently been reporting the highest cases in the country over the past year, has been under scrutiny for a while with several districts imposing partial lockdowns or night curfews.