COVID-19 kills 4 more in Indore; Madhya Pradesh toll rises to 37

Positive cases in state rise to 452

Shivraj-Chouhan-inspecting-hospital-Bhopal-Madhya-Pradesh-PTI Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reviews the facilities which will be granted to coronavirus-affected patients, during a nationwide lockdown, at Advanced Institute Of Medical Sciences in Bhopal, Saturday, March 28, 2020 | PTI

Madhya Pradesh’s coronavirus hotspot – Indore – is continuing to report deaths every day. With four more deaths on Friday, the toll in the district has risen to an alarming 27 – second highest among the cities in the country only after Mumbai, which has reported 45 deaths till now.

The new deaths have taken the toll in Madhya Pradesh to 37, which is also second highest in the country after Maharashtra, which has reported 97 deaths till now according to the official figures of the ministry of health and family welfare.

Indore chief medical and health officer, Dr Praveen Jadiya confirmed the deaths to THE WEEK. All the four deceased are males. A 52-year-old passed away in MY Hospital, while a 65-year-old and a 70-year-old passed away at the Gokuldas Hospital. A private AYUSH practitioner—65-year-old Omprakash Chouhan—also succumbed to COVID-19 at Aurobindo Hospital in Indore. This is the second death of a doctor in Indore in two days; Dr Shatrughan Panjwani died of the disease on Thursday.

The total number of positive cases in Madhya Pradesh, according to official sources, has risen to 452 as of now. Of these, 235 are in Indore and 112 are in Bhopal. Bhopal has however reported only one death till now fortunately. The capital reported 14 new cases late on Thursday night, while neighbouring Vidisha district also reported 11 more cases, taking the total there to 13.

One each was reported from Sagar and Shajapur district, taking the total affected districts in the state to 20. The state government has put the districts of Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain (15 cases, 5 deaths) under total lockdown and identified 46 hotspots in the state and ordered complete sealing there.

Pinch of essentials felt

With three districts including the capital Bhopal and the commercial capital Indore under total lockdown and other districts also facing lockdown situation, the dearth of essentials has started to pinch common people. Reports of people scrambling to meet daily needs including food grains, vegetables and others are emerging in from across the state.

Though the district authorities have made claims of supply of essentials at doorsteps or through online channels, people have failed to get essentials in many places, sources said. In Bhopal, the divisional commissioner has ordered provision of essential kits (inclusive of things like rice, flour, oil, tea, sugar) worth Rs 300 at the Sanchi milk booths in the city from Thursday. Milk booths and medicine stores are the only outlets that have been allowed to remain open in Bhopal.  District administration said that 8,500 home delivery orders were completed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the state government also decided to provide one month free ration to about 32 lakh such persons who do not have eligibility slips under the National Food Security Act despite falling in the category. They could not get the eligibility slips because of cap on the number of beneficiaries per state, a government release said.