Partial lockdown extended till May 13

Ranchi: The ongoing statewide lockdown — called health safety week — was on Wednesday extended for another week and will now be in force till 6am of May 13, a state disaster management department notification said. While all the earlier imposed restrictions will continue to be in place, the state government has decided to extend working hours of specified government offices for full hours. Earlier, even the state government offices were allowed to function only till 2pm. Sources in the state disaster management department maintained that the government chose to continue with the lockdown to ensure that the economic activities can continue. “Considering the feedback of different sectors about the nature of the lockdown, the state government has decided to continue with the current pattern to curb the transmission chain of the virus,” said an official.