Bhopal:

Restrictions on assembly and a night curfew have been imposed in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district, 450 kilometres from Bhopal, to prevent an upsurge in daily coronavirus figures. The decision was taken as the district lies on the border with Maharashtra, which has been recording over 5,000 daily cases for the last several days.

The district administration, in a circular, announced a ban on assembly of five or more people. Announcing a night curfew, it said no movement of people and vehicles will be permitted from 10 PM to 6 AM, except in emergency situations.

The district administration has also banned social gatherings. It said for any kind of social gatherings, prior permission from competent authority will be required.

Maharashtra reported 5,210 fresh COVID-19 infections on Monday, after logging over 6,000 cases for three days in a row.

The state — which has witnessed an upsurge in COVID-19 cases since February 10 — reported 6,112 infections last Friday (February 19). It reported 6,281 and 6,971 new cases on Saturday (Feb 20) and Sunday (Feb 21).

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has warned that lockdown would have to be imposed in the state if the upsurge is not stemmed within the next two weeks.

The Madhya Pradesh administration has reportedly ordered screening of people coming to the state from Maharashtra.

With inputs from PTI