Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that night curfew will be brought back across the state from 11 pm to 5 am amid fears of a surge in Covid cases as Omicron cases rise across the country. Madhya Pradesh, however, hasn't registered any cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant yet.
"We are implementing night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am. It is worrying that more cases are coming in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Delhi. In Madhya Pradesh too, 30 cases have been found in 24 hours. People keep coming from these states to Madhya Pradesh. Corona's new form Omicron has reached 16 states of the country. The possibility cannot be ruled out that cases of this variant will come in Madhya Pradesh. Omicron spreads very quickly, he said.
Mr Chouhan said that the state needs to be alert and stop the third wave of Covid. He appealed to the people to take measures to ensure that the infection does not spread rapidly, including wearing a mask, not leaving the house unnecessarily, and getting vaccinated.
"More measures will be taken if needed. If someone gets infected in his house and there is no place of isolation, then he will be admitted to the hospital. We had already decided that children will go to the school with 50% attendance," he said.
While addressing a review meeting on Covid in the presence of Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang, Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains, and Additional Chief Secretary Health Mohammad Suleman, Mr Chouhan said that the administration of the second dose of vaccine should pick up and no eligible person should be left out from the second dose of the Covid vaccine. Officers in charge of the districts where the rate of vaccination has decreased have been directed to take it up on priority.
He also said that in the first phase, a preventive campaign should be started.
"Encourage those who do not wear masks to wear masks. Social distancing and other precautions should also be taken," the chief minister said.
He added that there should be "Roko Toko (stop and point out)" for masks and the citizens should be motivated to get both doses of the vaccine.
"At the same time, it should be ensured that only those who get both the doses go to places like New Year's celebrations, gyms, cinema halls, etc. and government employees should also be motivated to get the vaccine. "Salary should not be given to those who are unvaccinated," he said.
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