‘Lockdown this time will be stricter than that of last year’

Raipur, Apr 07:
Amid rapid surge in the cases of Coronavirus infection, the state government on Wednesday announced a complete lockdown in the capital Raipur from April 9. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel held meeting in this regard. The complete lockdown will begin at 6 pm on Friday till 6 am on April 19. The District Collector Dr S Bhartidasan announced total lockdown of ten days at a press conference here today. This time the lockdown will be stricter than that of last year. Government vehicles, ATMs and medical emergencies will be exempted in lockdown.
No religious, social and cultural programme will be allowed and tourist places will remain closed. Students going to appear in competitive exams will be exempted and hospitals will remain open. Petrol pumps will remain opened but petrol can be given for only medical emergency. Media persons and vehicles engaged in government services will also be given petrol. All religious, cultural and tourism spots will remain shut and all kinds of public meetings, social, religious and political programmes will be banned during this period, it said.
Hospitals and ATMs have been kept out of the purview of the lockdown, it said. Delivery of milk and newspapers will be allowed from 6 am to 8 am and between 5 pm and 6:30 pm. Home delivery of LPG cylinders is also allowed during the lockdown period. Industrial units and construction units will be allowed to function provided they accommodate workers in their respective premises and provide other necessary facilities, it said. Activities to contain the spread of the infection, including contact tracing, active surveillance, home isolation, distribution of medicine will continue, and all government employees related to these services will have to report to duty, as per the order. There will be no restriction on the people visiting centres for COVID-19 vaccination or for getting themselves tested, it said.
Public transport services, including taxis and auto-rickshaws, will only be allowed to ply for railway stations, the airport, bus stands and hospitals, it said. “This order will not be effective on the offices of Divisional Commissioner, Range IG, Collector, SP, ADM, Additional SP, Treasury, Chief Medical and Health Officer and offices functioning under them. However, the entry of common people will be prohibited in these offices during the lockdown period,” it stated. Petrol pump operators will provide fuel only to government vehicles engaged in official work, ATM cash vans, ambulances and privates vehicles on a medical emergency, autorickshaws and taxis operated for railway stations, airport and inter-state bus stands, vehicles possessing e-pass, exams aspirants possessing admit cards, media persons and newspaper hawkers, it said.
Raipur had reported 76,427 COVID-19 cases, including 1,001 deaths till Tuesday. The number of active cases is 13,107.
In the last six days, the district witnessed 10,755 new cases and 93 deaths.
Chhattisgarh saw its highest single-day spike on Tuesday since the outbreak of the infection in March last year. The state recorded 9,921 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the caseload to 3,68,269. With 53 more deaths caused due to viral infection and co-morbidities, the statewide toll mounted to 4,416.
“Keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation, Raipur district is being declared a containment zone from 6 pm on 9th April till 6 am on 19th April. All the borders of the district will remain sealed during this period,” Raipur district collector S Bharathi Dasan announced on Wednesday.
The state has witnessed 54,171 coronavirus cases and 561 deaths in the last month. The worst-hit Raipur and Durg districts accounted for 2,821 and 1,838 of the new cases, respectively.
While the cumulative count of the infection in Raipur has reached 76,427, including 1,001 deaths, Durgs caseload has increased to 45,891, including 812 fatalities.
Rajnandgaon recorded 940 new cases, Bilaspur 545 and Mahasamund 468, among other districts. Of the latest fatalities, 15 took place on Tuesday and 38 on Monday. Initially the lockdown will be implemented for 10 days and it can be extended further depending upon the situation. The government was not in favour of lockdown but taking note of the lack of seriousness among the people it had to take this decision. Many people were seen in public places without facemasks while many others were violating social distancing rule, forcing the administration to impose lockdown.