Jaipur, May 10 (PTI) The coronavirus disease is spreading to cities as well as villages, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Monday and called upon public representatives to ensure successful implementation of the lockdown to prevent the infection from spreading in the state.

Rajasthan is under a strict lockdown from May 10 to 24 under which intra-state movement has also been disallowed.

Gehlot's remarks came while he was interacting with ministers, legislators and members of Panchayati Raj Institutions as well as leaders of various political parties on the cooperation needed to make the lockdown successful.

The chief minister said that this war against the COVID-19 pandemic can be fought by taking all sections of society together.

Gehlot appealed to people to take a pledge that they will make the lockdown a success.

The state government can better manage the treatment of the infected, provide them with the best medical facilities. But, these facilities will fall short if the infection rate continues to rise, the chief minister said.

In the second wave of the coronavirus infection, the disease is spreading to cities as well as villages. A large number of youths, children and pregnant women are falling prey to it and the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is also increasing continuously, Gehlot said.

He said that to prevent the spread of the infection, restrictions on "traffic movement" have been implemented under the lockdown in the state.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Gulabchand Kataria said that this is not the time to find shortcomings, but to rise above politics and fight the pandemic together.

He assured the state government that it would get positive support from the opposition in this situation.

Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore and BJP state president Satish Poonia said that the role of panchayat representatives has increased more now than it was in the first wave of COVID-19.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)