By Sandeep Pauranik

Bhopal, Jun 14 (IANS): With the steady increase in the spread of coronavirus across Madhya Pradesh, all 52 districts of the state are now affected by the virus. Niwari district being the only exception till now has also been affected by the virus. Rural areas are now fast coming in the grip of the infection.

The government is now concerned about the spread of the infection from urban to rural areas in the state. This is the reason why after opening offices and markets, the government is unable to decide on opening of schools.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed his inability to commit on the opening of schools, adding, "We will not be able to say anything when schools will open in the state, but seeing the present situation it is unlikely that they will open in July. There will be a review again in late June and a decision will be taken only after that."

The number of corona-infected patients has increased in 51 of the 52 districts of the state. Niwari, which was the only district free of corona patients, has also been affected now.

Niwani district magistrate Akshay Kumar Singh said three corona-positive persons have been found in the district and strict measures will be enforced to check the spread. Markets will open only from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tracing the spread from urban to rural areas, official figures show there are 904 corona patients in 440 villages of the state. The government has earmarked Rs 275 crore, which is 15 per cent of the 14th Finance Commission allocation to the gram panchayats for prevention of Covid. It will be spent on masks, hygiene, sanitation, soaps, sanitizers, PPE kits, etc.

Fearing the spread of the infection, Chouhan said due to opening of the lockdown there has been an invrease in new corona-infected patients and any relaxation in restrictions may increase the chances further. Therefore, absolute caution and vigilance are required. According to official details, 22 labs are functional in the state for testing samples.

Citizens have been receiving medical services from 1,109 'fever clinics'. Testing and treatment capacity has steadily increased. In Alirajpur, Harda and Hoshangabad, no positive cases have been reported in the last 21 days. No positive cases were reported in Seoni in the last 19 days, Jhabua in the last 15 days and Sehore in the last 10 days. The recovery rate in the state has now increased to 70 per cent.

Officials from health, revenue and the police departments are involved in prevention of corona infection. As many as 9,580 police officials, including 6,381 constables, 1,812 head constables, 711 assistant sub-inspectors, 422 sub-inspectors, 164 inspectors, 70 DSPs and 20 additional SPs have been deployed to check the Covid spread.