The Madhya Pradesh government may impose a night curfew in a dozen districts, especially those bordering Maharashtra, to arrest the rise of Covid-19 cases seen over the last few days. Official sources said the decision is likely to be taken at a meeting on Friday evening to review the Covid situation in the state.

Indore, Bhopal, Betul, Chhindwara, Khargone, Barwani are some of the districts where the night curfew could be imposed, sources told News18. The district administration of Balaghat, which borders Maharashtra, had already imposed restrictions from 10pm to 6am two days ago.

The state government is concerned about the rise in cases in Maharashtra, which has recorded over 8,000 new cases on two consecutive days, triggering fears of a second wave. It may have a cascading effect in MP since thousands of people commute daily to Maharashtra for work.

The number of Covid cases in MP has also seen an uptick over the last few days, with the number of active cases rising to 2,435, and test positivity rate increasing to 2.3 per cent. On Thursday, Indore reported 133 cases while Bhopal recorded 70 and Jabalpur 22.

Apart from considering a night curfew, the state government has also started thermal screening of those coming to the state from Maharashtra.

In Bhopal and a few other districts, police teams have been formed to penalise those who don’t wear masks at public places, especially in crowded markets.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday had said that Covid19 threat is not over yet and if things don’t improve, night curfew could be imposed in some areas.

Chouhan advised the public to avoid travelling to the neighbouring state if possible, and urged the public to use masks and avoid crowded places. Saying that big-time fairs have been called off in the state, he said marriages in Indore shall take place with half the strength in convention centres.