Ranchi:
Jharkhand’s two major cities — Ranchi and Jamshedpur — could witness some stringent measures in the coming days if the rate of Covid-19 infection continues to be on a higher side, chief minister
Hemant Soren hinted on Wednesday after attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with all CMs meeting.
Soren, along with state health minister Banna Gupta, chief secretary Sukhdev Singh and health secretary K K Soan, attended the PM’s video-conferencing from Project Building. While the PM did not interact directly with Soren, the latter said Jharkhand too needs to maintain vigil in the wake of growing cases in the states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and a few others.
Soren said the situation in most parts of Jharkhand is ‘under control’, but he is concerned about Ranchi and Jamshedpur. He said compared to other states, Jharkhand already has many curbs in place such as closure of schools for students up to Class VII, restrictions on gathering of 1,000-plus people and conduct of processions.
“Covid situation in the entire state is very much under control and our focus now is to maintain the status quo to flatten the curve. However, Ranchi and Jamshedpur are the two areas where we are getting a bulk of daily cases. Of about 550 active cases in the state, Ranchi has around 330 while 80-90 are in Jamshedpur. It could be because many people come to these cities for work,” he said, stressing on the need to have some more stringent steps.
While Soren did not elaborate on the measures, he appealed to the people to not let their guard down. “Covid is still not over. It is very much present amid us. While we are trying to increase the pace of vaccination, due precautions prescribed by the government must be taken,” he said, adding that vaccination drive is now being spread to panchayat levels to increase coverage.