As coronavirus cases in India surge, a night curfew has been imposed in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat on Tuesday, 16 March.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to take stock of COVID measures in the state, and appealed to the people “to take this pandemic seriously, wear masks, and follow all the rules”.
The curfew will be implemented in Bhopal and Indore from 17 March onwards, until further orders.
Markets in the cities of Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Ratlam, Burhanpur, Chhindwara, Betul, and Khargone will be shut by 10 pm, and there will be no curfew in these cities.
Curfew in Punjab
Night curfew will be imposed in Rupnagar District of Punjab from 11:00 pm to 05:00 am Tuesday onwards, until further notice, according to ANI.
Curfew in Gujarat
Gujarat has revised its curfew timings by two hours on Tuesday. There will be a curfew in the major metropolitan cities of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot—from 10 pm to 6 am.
The curfew will be implemented from Wednesday, 17 March till 31 March. Travelers with a valid ticket are exempt from the curfew, and emergency services such as hospitals and pharmacies will continue to function without disruptions.
Surge in COVID Cases
The move by Gujarat and MP to impose a curfew comes a day after the Maharashtra government, amid a steep spike in COVID-19 cases, on 15 March, issued a fresh set of guidelines. The order titled “Mission Begin Again” will remain in force till 31 March 2021.
The daily case count in the state was above 15,000 over this weekend, crossing the 16,000-mark on Sunday, 14 March.
India on Tuesday reported 24,492 new COVID-19 cases, taking total cases in the country to 1,14,09,831, as death toll rises by 131 to 1,58,856. Meanwhile, active cases stands at 2,23,432, while total recoveries are at 1,10,27,543.
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