A spurt in COVID-19 cases has let to increasing concern amid officials across the country. And in several areas, this has led to the re-imposition of curfews and lockdowns, of varying degrees of severity. The rise in cases is being attributed to the recently concluded festive season.
In a bid to contain the viral spread, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has decided to impose a 57-hour curfew in Ahmedabad city, from 9 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday. In November so far, there have been 21,458 cases at an average of 1,073 cases daily, and on Friday, Gujarat saw the highest daily spike of coronavirus cases, at 1,420. The death toll has risen 3,837 as seven more succumbed. "Today, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation declared night curfew from 9 00 pm to 6.00 am, every day, from tomorrow, in order to control spread of COVID-19," read a notice by Additional Chief Secretary, Dr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta.
A complete curfew has been imposed in the city of Ahmedabad from 9:00 pm on November 20 to 6:00 am on November 23. During this period metro services will remain shut. Most businesses will also be closed, with only only shops selling milk and medicines being permitted to open. The reopening of schools and colleges has also been postponed.
Another state that has imposed a curfew is Madhya Pradesh. As on Friday evening, Madhya Pradesh's coronavirus caseload was 1,89,546, including 3,138 deaths, and it was for the first time in November that the active cases crossed the 10,000-mark.
Starting from Saturday, there will be a night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am in several districts of the state. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had told news agency ANI that this would apply to the Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Vidisha, and Ratlam districts. At the same time, the Chief Minister has rejected reports that the government is mulling a re-imposition of lockdown in the state.
"No lockdown will be imposed in the state except in containment zones, but the use of mask will be strictly enforced. A balance will be maintained so that neither the economy gets affected nor the coronavirus situation gets out of control," a public relations department said quoting the chief minister.
Schools and colleges will remain shut, and public spaces will continue to remain open with restrictions in place. The curfews will not affect people engaged in providing essential services as well as factory workers.
(With inputs from agencies)
