Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal has emerged the new hotspot for COVID-19 infection in the state, reporting as many as 44 new cases and one death in past 24 hours, taking the tally of positives in the capital to 61. The death, of a 52-year-old man, is the first in Bhopal.
On Sunday, the city had reported 23 positive cases, of them 11 were health department officers and employees. On Monday, 21 people tested positive.
Of the positives in Bhopal, as many as 16 are officers and employees of state health department, including two IAS officers, one additional director, one joint director and two deputy director rank officers. Several officials and employees of the department have been quarantined and samples of about 150 have been sent for testing, sources said.
Also, five among the positives are police personnel while 20 are related to Jamaats who participated in the Nizamuddin congregation in Delhi last month.
Death toll climbs to 16
The death toll has gone up to 16 in state with Indore reporting two more deaths in past 24 hours, taking the toll there to 10. Three deaths have been reported from Ujjain and one each from Khargone and Chhindwara districts.
The total number of cases in the state has gone up to 238, with 135 cases reported from Indore and 61 from Bhopal.
Bhopal Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Sudhir Kumar Dehariya had earlier in the day confirmed 14 positive cases from the city, inclusive of health department and police personnel. Later seven more tests came in positive. Health Commissioner Faiz Ahmed Kidwai could not be contacted for comments immediately.
Total lockdown in Bhopal
With the sudden surge in cases, total lockdown has been implemented in Bhopal from midnight of Sunday with all shops except that of milk and medicines closed down. Residents will be allowed to go to the nearest of these milk and medicine shops alone. Drones are being used in congested locality to track movement of people and strict warning has been issued against loitering unnecessarily.
In a message, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urged citizens of Bhopal to adhere to the strict lockdown to save the city from COVID-19. He said that despite problems, everyone will have to take preventive steps to stop the spread of the infection.
He said that the infection has reached the city because of some outsiders, but we have to prevent Bhopal from becoming a hotspot. He warned against moving out without emergency and said that a few people cannot be allowed to play with lives of others and stringent action will be taken against those found violating the lockdown.
