Except for Makar Sankranti's holy bath, all religious, commercial, and political gatherings are banned in Madhya Pradesh till further orders, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Friday.
All government and private schools and hostels from classes 1 to 12 shall remain closed in the state from January 15-31, in a bid to curb rising Covid cases.
A separate order will be issued by the state's education department regarding the pre-board exams which were scheduled to be held from January 20.
Though programs can be held inside halls, with 50 per cent less attendance than the seating capacity but no large gatherings are allowed. "No audience will be allowed during professional sports activities in the state," the order said.
The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 8,14,473 on Thursday with the addition of 4,031 cases, while the death count increased to 10,543 after three more patients succumbed to the infection.
The state's positivity rate stood at 5.1 per cent as against 4.5 per cent on Thursday.
There are 17,652 active COVID-19 cases in the state.
Muslim Traders Claim They Were Evicted From Madhya Pradesh Fair 4-Month Old Tiger Cub Found Dead In Tiger Reserve In Madhya Pradesh 40 Injured In Cylinder Blast At 'Chaat' Stall In Madhya Pradesh Emergency Landing, Fliers Stuck For 3 Days In Phuket; Air India Responds Explained: Why Delhi's AQI Was 494 Today But International Monitor Said 1,600 Putin Responds To Biden's Missile Approval By Changing Nuclear Doctrine Air India Flight From Paris Diverted To Jaipur, Fliers Sent To Delhi On Bus Jharkhand High Court Recruitment 2024: Registration Begins For District Judge Posts Over 200 Children Killed In Lebanon Amid Israel-Hezbollah Conflict: UN Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.