The ‘Corona Curfew’ restrictions will not be lifted until May 31, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday, a day after the number of covid-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh fell below 6,000 for the first time in nearly five weeks.

Chouhan set deadlines for block and gramme panchayat crisis management committees to ensure that the states are rid of covid-19 by May 31. He spoke at a covid-19 review meeting in Ujjain. “We can handle one unusual situation,” he said, “but we should aim to limit the virus spread by May 31.”

The ‘janata curfew’ will not be relaxed until the end of the month, nor will controls be extended, the chief minister said, citing agricultural and other sector constraints. “Activities cannot be halted forever and we must get ahead with our lives,” he said.

Around May 24 and May 31, over 52 districts are under a covid-19 curfew for varying lengths of time.

Even in June, the state government’s 15-day “Kill Corona” programme, which focuses on prevention, testing, and treatment centres, will be enforced vigorously, especially in rural areas. The chief minister has issued an alert about the virus’s spread in rural areas. Villagers are seeking care from local untrained or semi-trained doctors after failing to diagnose the signs, resulting in them ending up in city hospitals in serious or worsened circumstances, he added.

Despite the drop in illness reports, he also stated that the state would not stop covid monitoring. “In the state, we’ve reached 73,000 daily checks, which is ten times the number of daily positive cases, and we’ll keep going.” “Mobile vans would be sent to take random samples in public areas if necessary,” he told police.

Chouhan hinted that marriages and other roles could be permitted in June, thus advising citizens to postpone their plans until then.

He warned residents, however, not to take the situation lightly and to heed the advice and regulations issued after the June relaxations.

Madhya Pradesh has seen a decrease in covid reports, with the state registering 5,412 cases and 70 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 7,42,718 and the death toll to 7,139. There are 6,52,612 recovered cases in the province, with 82,967 active cases.

Madhya Pradesh has recorded 573 cases of black fungus infection, according to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who also said that the state will receive anti-fungal injections from the Centre by tomorrow. The injections, which will be administered rationally across the districts, come as the state grapples with an increase in the number of fungal infection cases in the last week, according to the CM.