BHOPAL: News that everyone was waiting for. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the end of all Covid curbs, except for night curfew, in Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening.
“Thanks to a continuous drop in positivity rate and active cases, all restrictions imposed to tackle the Covid pandemic are being lifted. All schools, colleges and hostels can operate at 100% capacity,” the CM tweeted. All cultural, business, political, entertainment and sports activities can be held at full capacity, and there will be no limit on the attendees at weddings and funerals, he added.
The CM cautioned that the pandemic hasn’t ended and Covid precautions are mandatory. “This is why night curfew will continue to be in force from 11pm to 5am,” Chouhan said.
School education department officials said online classes will continue. “As of now, we have not received any order to discontinue online classes. The school education department will issue a separate order if required,” said a senior official.
Night curfew was imposed on December 23, when Omicron and the third wave had the country on the tenterhooks. Other restrictions followed. Fortunately, however, hospitalization was barely 2-3% in the third wave and severity of infection, too, was low, thanks to 93% full vaccination. Covid cases started dropping just before Republic Day and there hasn’t been a significant spike in a fortnight. The daily positivity rate, which was 13.4% on January 22, dropped to 3.4% on February 10. The daily count that was 11,274 on that day dropped to 2,612 on February 11. And active cases have plunged by nearly 60% in the same period. Hence, the feeling of hope and optimism.
In an order circulated to collectors on Friday, principal secretary, home, Rajesh Rajora said that all the guidelines previously issued in the wake of pandemic were being withdrawn. The administration will ensure Covid-appropriate behavior, like use of masks. Collectors can declare ‘micro containment zones’ to stop the spread of Covid or take other prohibitory measures if needed.
