By Arré Bench Apr. 17, 2020
On Thursday, Madhya Pradesh recorded 361 new coronavirus cases of which 244 were from Indore alone.
As the coronavirus continues to spread across India, certain states are feeling the brunt of the pandemic harder than others. Madhya Pradesh has seen a sharp spike in the number of positive cases over the last couple of days. On Thursday, it saw a surge in infection, with 361 new cases recorded – the highest single-day figure in the country for any state so far. Indore alone reported 244 of these cases and MP jumped to the No 3 spot in the country with a total of 1,299 cases, according to The Times of India.
In an alarming video posted on Twitter, ophthalmic surgeon Dr Anand Rai calls Indore “India’s Wuhan” for the worrying way the number of positive cases in the state have skyrocketed. In a series of videos, Dr Rai outlined four chief reasons why he believes Indore has become one of India’s worst-hit hotspots for the coronavirus.
भारत का वुहान कैसे बन गया इंदौर 1/1 @brajeshabpnews pic.twitter.com/0J498D7I8W
— Dr.ANAND RAI (@anandrai177) April 17, 2020
The main reason, Rai believes, is that home quarantine was not respected by the citizens of Indore. He also points out that the temperature checks being conducted were not sufficient, as fever can manifest after four or five days of the virus being in a person’s body, and thus many potential carriers entered public spaces, leading to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Secondly, ration supplies are not reaching the entire population, forcing a section of people out of their homes in search of food even while lockdown is supposed to be in effect. Thirdly, not enough contact tracing has been carried out, and finally, the essential workers, like medical professionals, police, sanitation workers, and delivery professionals have not been tested enough.
Things in Indore have gotten so bad that today, a CNN-News18 journalist tweeted the news that the entire city was going to face screening. This is a city of nearly 30 lakh people, so every citizen being screened illustrates how dire the situation has become.
Indore to screen ALL residents for #COVID19. This is a city with close to 30,00,000 people. Also one of India's first hotspots, with 842 people testing positive so far.
— Sayoni Aiyar (@sayoniaiyar) April 17, 2020
Indore is already one of the worst affected cities in India & we aren't writing about how bad things are there.
The crisis has moved from hosps to crematorium. Pls write.
— Vidya (@VidyaKrishnan) April 14, 2020
The media’s attention is only now turning to Indore and its risky battle with the coronavirus. For days, people with knowledge of the situation on the ground have been issuing warnings about the disaster to come. Hopefully, Indore’s residents understand the nature of the fight they are in, and begin wholeheartedly cooperating with authorities to fight the virus. Earlier in the month, residents of Indore’s Tatpatti Bakhal neighbourhood, one of the hotspots of the virus outbreak, pelted stones at healthcare workers and chased them away. The refusal to get screened has now backfired on its residents.
But let’s hope Indore has learnt from its mistake. The last thing the city needs is a repeat of the farcical situations that took place on March 22, when the Prime Minister’s Janata Curfew was treated as an occasion to step outdoors and take out processions.
Bike and Car Rally by Indore's #COVIDIOT in honour of those fighting the Corona Virus in the frontlines pic.twitter.com/p51scQJNCA
— Srivatsa (@srivatsayb) March 22, 2020
The entire country must face the threat of coronavirus together, so here’s hoping the Madhya Pradesh state government is quickly able to put a lid on the burgeoning coronavirus numbers before they spike further.
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