BHOPAL: Amid the rapid surge in COVID-19 cases post-Diwali, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired a COVID-19 situation review meeting in Bhopal on Friday. Though it was decided not to impose lockdown in any district, city or area, except the containment zones, the meeting decided to enforce night curfew (10 pm to 6 am) from Saturday in Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Ratlam and Vidisha districts, where the surge in COVID-19 cases has been highest.

However, there will be no restrictions on the movement of industrial labourers and transportation of trucks, while inter-state and inter-district transportation too will continue uninterrupted.

Also, schools from class I to VIII will remain closed till further orders, while students of class IX to XII and colleges will be able to attend classes as per the guidelines issued by the concerned departments.

Also, it was decided to strictly enforce the use of face masks in all public places. Further from Saturday onwards, District Crisis Management Committees will hold meetings in all the districts. By November 22 all district collectors should send a proposal to the state government regarding the maximum limit of attendance to be fixed in marriages/social programmes and about areas to be made containment zones.

The reporting of COVID-19 cases in the state has more than doubled in the last three-four days in some districts of the state, including Indore, Bhopal, Vidisha, Ratlam and Gwalior. According to the state COVID-19 bulletin on Friday, a total 1528 cases and nine deaths were reported in the state over the last 24 hours. Bhopal and Indore reported 378 and 313 cases respectively.

Till date, 1,89,546 coronavirus cases and 3138 deaths have been reported in Madhya Pradesh, while 1,76,006 patients have recovered. Presently, there are 10,402 active cases in the state.