Despite a ‘Kill Corona’ campaign in the first fortnight of July, Madhya Pradesh recorded a worrying rise of 134 per cent in COVID-19 cases in the month compared with all the cases reported till June-end.
The state reported 18,213 cases in the month of July alone, compared with 13,593 cases from March 20 (when COVID-19 infection was first reported in the state) to June 30, analysis of data released by the state health department shows.
As of Friday evening, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh stood at 31,806, of which 8,668 cases were active. The state has reported a total 867 deaths till now, of which 295 (34 per cent) were in the month of July. The cases reported in July are 58 per cent of the total cases reported till now, data analysis shows.
However, the state government has decided that there won’t be any more lockdowns in the state, except on Sundays. At a review meeting held on Friday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the pace of the economy has to be accelerated and “therefore, from now on, there will be no lockdown in any district of the state, other than the pre-announced one and Sunday lockdown. If need for lockdown arises in any district due to unavoidable reasons, permission will have to be sought from the state level. No collector will be able to impose lockdown in the districts at free will.”
Second phase of ‘Kill Corona’ campaign from Aug 1-14
Chouhan also announced that the second phase of ‘Kill Corona’ campaign with the theme Sankalp ki chain jodo, Corona ki chain todo (link the chain of commitment, break the chain of COVID-19) will be launched in the state from August 1 to 14. This is mainly an awareness campaign under which people will be made aware about wearing masks and adhering to physical distancing norms compulsorily, Chouhan added.
Announcing the decision after the review meeting, Home Minister Narottam Mishra reiterated that during this period, no public events including political events will be held in the state. “The chief minister has said that life is more precious than elections or festivals and we have to strictly adhere to the preventive norms,” the home minister said.
The state government had already announced a ban on public political events and public tours of ministers and asked all ministers, public representatives and officers to strictly follow norms on masks and physical distancing, failing which they might attract a fine or criminal case or both.
In the first phase of the ‘Kill Corona’ campaign, held in the first fortnight of July, the focus was on a door-to-door survey to identify COVID-19 cases and patients of other ailments and provide them necessary treatment. The number of tests also increased significantly during the month of July.
