Social distancing norms flouted at procession to honour BJP minister

#WATCH Madhya Pradesh: Social distancing norms flouted during a procession (Kalash Yatra) organised by BJP in support of State Minister Tulsi Silawat in Indore yesterday. (08.09.2020)

Tulsi Silawat is contesting from the Sanwer constituency in the upcoming State Assembly by-poll pic.twitter.com/xONn7wzaJY

— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2020

Silawat, who is the state Water Resources Minister,  and his wife had tested positive for the novel coronavirus in July. Both had recovered in August. Silawat, a loyalist of Jyotiraditya Scindia and then the health minister, resigned with 21 other Congress MLAs and joined the BJP in March, which led to fall of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh. He was made water resources minister in the BJP government that followed.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had also tested COVID-19 positive and was discharged from the hospital after recovering. A couple of days before Chouhan, state Co-operatives Minister Arvind Singh Bhadoria was also found infected with coronavirus.

Indore reported 295 fresh infections, a highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases that has taken its tally to 15,165. “At present, about 80 per cent of the total 4,300 beds available for infected patients in different hospitals are occupied,” said Dr Amit Malakar, district nodal officer for prevention of COVID-19.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh has risen to 77,323 and th death toll has reached 1,609. As many as 1,864 new COVID-19 case and 20 fatalities were recorded on Tuesday. A total of 1,600 patients were discharged after treatment in the day, taking the count of recoveries in the state to 58,509.