With a surge in COVID-19 cases in Jharkhand, the State government on Tuesday enforced a 7-day lockdown from April 22-29 to check the spread of the pandemic.
Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister has indicated a similar strategy for his State.
“After a high-level meeting with officials it was decided to enforce lockdown in the State from April 22-29 as part of Health Safety Week,” Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren told mediapersons in Ranchi.
Central and State government offices, and the private sector, have been exempted from the lockdown, while other organisations and offices will remain shut, he added. The government has also imposed Section 144 — prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons at a place — all across the State. The Mr. Soren also appealed to people to stay at home to check the spread of the pandemic.
In Jharkhand, 1,33,479 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported, and there are 28,010 active cases. As many as 1,456 people have lost their lives to the virus in Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad told mediapersons, “If the spread of the virus will not be checked even after night curfew, some strong measures may be taken.”
Bihar has imposed night curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., and has ordered the closure of all educational institutions, cinema halls and religious places till May 15.
In the past 24 hours, Bihar reported over 10,000 new cases. There are 49,527 active cases in the State, with 1,790 deaths so far.
Seventy doctors and 50 nurses of the Patna Medical College and Hospitals (PMCH) have tested positive, as have over 100 policemen.
District officials on Tuesday told local mediapersons that 38 juvenile occupants of a Chhapra remand home had tested positive on Monday, and some of them later escaped by twisting the iron grill of a window of the facility.
In State capital Patna, roads wore a deserted look on Tuesday, with ambulances racing between hospitals at high speed, sirens blaring. Hospitals in Patna have been complaining about the shortage of oxygen cylinders and beds for COVID-19 patients.
“Like Maharashtra and Delhi, the situation in Patna, too, has been going from bad to worse every day, and the worrying thing is that the State has very poor health infrastructure. People are getting infected and dying due to COVID-19 but the government’s response is pathetic,” rued a young girl. Both her parents have been admitted to two different private hospitals in Patna.
Earlier, a Delhi-based journalist Kunal Dutt, told The Hindu, “During this difficult time, the Bihar government has completely failed in providing any relief to those seeking medical help.” Eleven members of Mr. Dutt’s family tested positive and two of them died.