Bihar extends Covid lockdown by a week till June 8 but with some relaxations

On Sunday, Bihar reported 1,475 positive Covid cases, down from the 14,836 cases reported on May 5, the day the lockdown was announced.

The Bihar government on Monday extended Covid-19 lockdown by a week till June 8, following a review of the situation by chief minister Nitish Kumar and state officials. This is the fourth extension of the lockdown that began on May 5.

Empty road near Patna high court amid the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Bihar. (Photo by Santosh Kumar /Hindustan Times)

“Seeing the cases and the positive impact of the lockdown, it has been decided to extend the lockdown by one more week till June 8 but certain relaxations for trade and commerce are being provided,” Nitish Kumar said in a tweet. The lockdown was earlier supposed to end on June 1.

Additional chief secretary (home) Chaitanya Prasad said all shops and business establishments will now open alternately from 6 am till 2 pm. “The district magistrates will decide which shop is to open on which day,” said Prasad. Earlier, certain shops including grocery and vegetable kiosks were allowed to open from 6 am till 10 am.

Prasad added that government offices will also be allowed to function with 25% staff strength, however, private offices will continue to remain closed.

The test positivity rate, which stood at 15.7% on May 2, has now come down to 1.8% on May 30 and the recovery rate has increased to 96.67%. The state reported 18,377 active cases on Sunday.

“The impact of the lockdown has been very encouraging and the crisis management group (CMG) has decided to continue with the restrictions and relaxations announced on May 16,” said additional chief secretary (health), Pratayaya Amrit.

Bihar’s CMG had decided to impose a state-wide lockdown in a desperate attempt to contain the disease and to deal with the continuing shortage of life saving drugs, medical oxygen and hospital beds across the state.

The state currently faces a big challenge of vaccinating people in rural areas although it has dispatched vans for testing and vaccinations.