Coronavirus lockdown: Rajasthan govt tightens curfew norms in Bhilwara; passes to media revoked

With Bhilwara recording 30 per cent of total COVID-19 cases in Rajasthan, the district administration plans to impose a stricter lockdown in the textile town for 10 days starting from April 3 by revoking passes issued to media and NGOs, officials said on Tuesday.

Residents have been asked to remain indoors as the district administration has prepared a time-table to deliver essential services at door steps, they said.

“For 10 days starting from April 3, people should remain indoors. We are going to cancel all passes issued to media, public support groups or NGOs. Essential services will be delivered as per a time-table in the town,” Bhilwara collector Rajendra Bhatt said.

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He said people will have to maintain social distancing while buying essential goods.

Bhilwara has reported 26 positive cases out of the 83 coronavirus cases reported in the state so far.

“Out of the 26 positive cases (in Bhilwara), eight have turned negative after treatment, which is good news. If people remain disciplined in the coming days and support the administration, we will tide over the coronavirus crisis,” Bhatt said.

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Out of the total 3,447 samples taken in the state, 1,194 samples have been taken in Bhilwara alone. Health teams have screened over 26 lakh people of the district. As many as 3.74 lakh people have been screened in two surveys in Bhilwara, while 22.22 lakh in rural areas were screened once, officials said.

Bhilwara became a hotspot of coronavirus cases in the state after three doctors and nine nursing staffers of a private hospital were initially tested positive.

Most of the people who turned out COVID-19 positive in the textile town were either hospital staffers or those who had gone to the private hospital for treatment.

The administration had clamped curfew in the district and sealed the borders soon after cases were detected and carried out massive survey and screening in the urban and rural areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently declared a 21-day national lockdown till April 14 to arrest the spread of the disease.