NEW DELHI: Indore and Bhopal have emerged as Covid-19 hotspots in Madhya Pradesh, accounting for 248 out of 296 cases reported by the state.In the past three days, 56 new cases have been found in Bhopal, increasing the total count in the capital city to 75. At a time when other state governments were preparing their lockdown strategy to battle the epidemic, the city was witness to a political drama which ended with Shivraj Singh Chouhan becoming the chief minister of the state on March 22.Soon after this, the state saw a sudden influx of Covid-19 cases, which are spread across 13 districts, while 23 people have died, including 15 in Indore only.In Bhopal, 34 cases are of senior officers and workers of state health department while 15 are of policemen and their families.The state doesn’t have a health minister and the entire senior bureaucracy dealing with Covid-19 is either positive or in quarantine. Principal secretary, health, Pallavi Jain Govil and additional director, health, Dr Veena Sinha tested positive last week –both these officers were part of every meeting on Covid-19. Health corporation managing director J Vijaya Kumar also tested positive.Around 12 IAS officers who were part of the core group have been quarantined. These include the principal secretary to the CM and state health commissioner Faiz Ahmed Kidwai.“We are investigating the reasons. District administration is trying to find out their contact history,” Kidwai told ET while being in quarantine.Nearly 20 cases in Bhopal are of people who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi last month. Currently, 63 areas of the city have been isolated.“Looking at the situation in Indore and Bhopal, there is a need for more vigilance. We will decide on lockdown depending upon the situation. People’s life is more important than economy at the moment,” chief minister Chouhan said in a video statement.In Morena, there are 12 confirmed cases, all related to a person who came from Dubai on March 17. The person organised a feast on March 20 where about 2,000 people participated. On April 2, this person along with his wife tested positive, and since then 10 more cases have emerged. About 1,000 people have been kept in home quarantine now and a first information report has been filed against the person who returned from Dubai.