Chhattisgarh extends Covid lockdown till May 31; districts can ease restrictions

The Chhattisgarh government has allowed construction activities in the public and private sector to resume.

RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government has asked district administrations to extend the lockdown till May 31 to contain the surge of Covid-19 cases, officials said on Saturday.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel’s government has extended the coronavirus lockdown in the state till May 31 (Twitter/ChhattisgarhCMO)

The government has, however, allowed the district authorities to grant more relaxations in economic and other activities in this extended lockdown period.

The lockdown, in force in all 28 districts, was to end on Saturday midnight.

A government statement said the lockdown will continue but the districts are being allowed to grant relaxations, depending on Covid status and risk being faced in each district. “The restrictions and relaxations shall be applied till May 31,” the statement said.

The state government had first imposed the restrictions in early April and has extended the lockdown since then.

According to Union health ministry data, Chhattisgarh has 1,15,964 active cases, a decline of over 3,000 cases from yesterday. The move to allow districts to ease relaxations in view of local conditions is being linked to the variation in the Covid positivity rates, ranging from 30.9% in Raigarh district to 10.1% in Kondagaon district.

“All kinds of standalone shops including those related to grocery, daily needs, vegetables and fruits and shops selling meat, poultry, eggs, fish, milk and milk products can function till 5pm. Although home delivery service for these products will be encouraged at the same time,” the government statement said.

Banks and post offices can function with 50 percent of its staff and put in place appropriate social/physical distancing measures. Registry offices will also remain open with basic staff, for all registries, the statement added.

According to the new guidelines, all government and private construction activities will be allowed but they will have to comply with all standard operating procedures and labour safety measures.