PATNA
The Bihar government on Monday extended the Covid-19 lockdown by a week till June 1 following a review meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar.
This is the second time the state has extended the lockdown first announced from May 5 till May 15.
“Reviewed the ongoing lockdown in Bihar with ministerial colleagues and officials. The lockdown is showing good results and positive cases are coming down. Therefore, we have decided to extend the lockdown in the state for seven days, from May 26 till June 1, 2021,” Kumar tweeted in Hindi.
On Monday, Bihar reported 2,844 positive cases, down from the 14,836 positive cases reported in the state on May 5, the day lockdown came into force. The state reported 93 deaths in the last 24 hours, which takes the total toll to 4,642 deaths since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year.
“The impact of the lockdown has been very encouraging and the crisis management group has decided to continue with restrictions and relaxations announced on May 16,” said additional chief secretary (home), Chaitanya Prasad.
Bihar had been struggling to curb the spread of Covid-19 and the continuing shortage of life saving drugs, medical oxygen and hospital beds when it announced the lockdown decision on May 4.
{{/usCountry}}Bihar had been struggling to curb the spread of Covid-19 and the continuing shortage of life saving drugs, medical oxygen and hospital beds when it announced the lockdown decision on May 4.
{{/usCountry}}Curbs on movement of ministers
The state government has advised its ministers not to make rounds of their constituencies in violation of the restrictions clamped earlier this month to contain the Covid-19 spread.
A notification issued by additional chief secretary (cabinet) Sanjay Kumar to all personal secretaries of the ministers noted with concern “reported instances of ministers touring their constituencies or districts under their charge” for reviewing the progress of development works etc.
“Such acts by honourable ministers will send a wrong message to the common people who might become disinclined to scrupulously adhere to the restrictions in place during the lockdown. These restrictions have been in place to control the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic which has gripped the state,” the notification said.
The letter advised the ministers to avoid tours of their areas for reviews and inspections. If required, they may opt for video conferencing, it suggested.