Bihar government extends COVID-19 lockdown till May 25

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced on Thursday that the statewide lockdown imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), was being extended for 10 days, from May 16-25."Reviewed the ongoing lockdown in Bihar with ministerial colleagues and officials. We can see that the lockdown is having a positive impact. Therefore, we have decided to extend the lockdown in the state for 10 days, from May 16-25, 2021," a rough translation of Kumar's tweet, posted in Hindi, read.

आज सहयोगी मंत्रीगण एवं पदाधिकारियों के साथ बिहार में लागू लॉकडाउन की स्थिति की समीक्षा की गयी। लॉकडाउन का सकारात्मक प्रभाव दिख रहा है। अतः बिहार में अगले 10 दिनों अर्थात 16 से 25 मई, 2021 तक लॉकडाउन को विस्तारित करने का निर्णय लिया गया है।

— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) May 13, 2021

On May 4, the Crisis Management Group of the Bihar government decide to impose a 10-day lockdown in the state, from May 5-15, amid a rise in daily Covid-19 cases. The guidelines, that will continue till at least May 25, order the closure of all religious places. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions will remain shut. Recreational spaces like gyms, cinema halls, parks, swimming pools, gardens etc would also remain closed. All forms of gatherings are also banned. The exemptions include only the vegetable, fruit, meat, chicken and egg sellers, who are allowed to operate as per the timing allotted by the local administration. The restaurants and dhabas can operate only for home-deliveries, as per the guidelines. Bihar, has been badly hit  by the second COVID-19 wave. The active caseload currently stands at 99,623 active cases, as per the official data.