Unlock 4: Universities, schools, restaurants to open in Bihar

The decision was announced by chief minister Nitish Kumar after chairing meeting of the crisis management group with ministers and senior officials of the state

The Bihar government on Monday decided to relax Covid-19 curbs further during Unlock 4 by allowing universities and restaurants to open from July 7.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. (ANI)

The decision was announced by chief minister Nitish Kumar after chairing meeting of the crisis management group with ministers and senior officials of the state. The new set of relaxations will remain effective for a month from July 7 till August 6.

“After reviewing the situation in the state, it has been decided that all universities, colleges, technical institutions, government training institutes, classes 11 and 12 will resume with 50% attendance. Arrangements will be made for vaccination of all adult students, teachers and employees,” said Kumar. However schools for classes 1 to 10 and coaching institutes will remain closed and no exam will be conducted during the period.

Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, chief secretary Tripurari Sharan said that the government has decided to allow restaurants, gyms, swimming pools and clubs to open with 50% capacity. The stadiums will also open but only for players to practice.

Another relaxation announced by the government is with regard to weddings and last rites. The government has extended the list of guest to 50 from 25 for both these functions.

However, cinema halls and malls would continue to remain closed.

The government announced that all government and private offices would now function normally and visitors would be allowed after ensuring that they have been vaccinated.

During the Unlock 3 period, parks and gardens were allowed to open from 6am till 12pm with proper Covid-19 protocol while the duration of night curfew has been further reduced by an hour from 9pm till 5am.

There is no change in timings for shops and they will continue to operate on alternate days from 6am till 7pm.

The lockdown in state was clamped on May 5 and was extended four times, the last being on June 2, to contain a record rise in Covid-19 infections in the state.

The state on Sunday reported 109 new cases, with number of active cases at 1,435.