Unlock 3.0: Offices to run with full strength; shops to open till 7pm, parks opened

All government and private offices will function with full strength, while shops will be allowed to operate for one extra hour till 7pm from Wednesday, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced on Monday

All government and private offices will function with full strength, while shops will be allowed to operate for one extra hour till 7pm from Wednesday, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced on Monday. The state government has also announced to open parks from 6am till 12 noon.

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Kumar, who was chairing a meeting of crisis management group with ministers and senior officials of the state, said the new set of relaxations will remain effective for a fortnight till July 6.

“After reviewing the situation in the state, it has been decided that all government and private offices will now work with full workforce from June 23. Shops will remain open till 7pm, and parks will open from 6am till 12 noon. The duration of night curfew has also been reduced further and it will now be in place from 9pm till 5am,” said Kumar.

Till now, offices were allowed to function till 5pm with 50% attendance during Unlock 2.0, that was announced last week on June 16, while shops were allowed to be opened on alternate days till 6pm.

Prior to that, shops were allowed to open from 6am till 5pm on alternate days during unlock 1.0, and night curfew was imposed from 5pm till 6am.

“Under Unlock 3.0, parks and gardens have been allowed to open from 6am till 12 noon while following proper Covid-19 protocol. Besides, duration of night curfew has been further reduced by an hour from 9pm till 5 am,” said additional chief secretary (home) Chaitanya Prasad.

The state government also gave certain relaxations for wedding functions and last rites by increasing the maximum number of attendees to 25 from the earlier 20 for both functions, Prasad said. Restaurants have also been allowed to provide takeaway services in addition to home delivery, he added.

However, cinema halls, malls, swimming pools, clubs will continue to remain closed, the additional chief secretary (home) said.

Schools, colleges and coaching institutes will also continue o remain closed, he said, adding that a decision on their opening will be taken at a later date.

The lockdown was clamped on May 5 in the state and was extended four times after that, the last being on June 2, to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases during the second of the pandemic that began in April and continued till May end, paralysing health care system and resulting into hundreds of deaths. The state at the time also struggled to augment the number of hospital beds, oxygen supply and essential medicines, while containing black marketing of life-saving drugs and equipment by unscrupulous elements.