Except for Makar Sankranti's holy bath, all religious, commercial, and political gatherings have been banned in Madhya Pradesh (MP) in view of the rising COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Friday, 14 January.
The MP government, on 23 December, had announced a night curfew in the state from 11 pm to 5 am.
Will schools be closed?
Yes, all government and private schools will remain closed for students of classes 1-12 between 15 and 31 January
Are political or religious gatherings allowed?
All political and religious gatherings and fairs will be banned. However, there is no ban on Makar Sankranti 'snan' (bath).
What about political programmes?
All political, cultural, religious, social, and entertainment programmes will be allowed, but with a maximum capacity of no more than 250 people.
What about sports activities?
For sports activities, stadiums will operate at 50 percent capacity.
Further, Chouhan added that indoor halls will also operate at 50 percent capacity.
The additional restrictions come after the COVID-19 tally in MP rose to 8,14,473 on Thursday with the addition of 4,031 cases and three more deaths. The total death tally is at 10,543.
Meanwhile, the state's positivity rate has risen to 5.1 percent.
There are currently 17,652 active COVID-19 cases in the state.
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