Bihar and Uttar Pradesh governments on Tuesday lifted restrictions imposed in the states to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
In a tweet, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the lockdown will be lifted but a night curfew between 7 pm and 5 am will remain in place. Kumar said the decision was taken due to decline in infections.
He said that government and private offices will be allowed to open with 50% attendance till 4 pm. Shops can remain open till 5 pm. Kumar allowed private vehicles to ply on the road and said that online classes can also operate.
“This arrangement will be in place for the next one week,” he said. “Still need to avoid overcrowding.”
The lockdown was first imposed in the state on May 5. It was extended for the fourth time on May 31 till Tuesday, reported the Hindustan Times.
On Monday, Bihar registered 762 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the infection tally in the state to 713,879 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The toll rose to 5,424 after 43 people died.
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh also announced relaxations in the Covid-19 curfew enforced across the state as all the 75 districts had active cases below the 600-mark, reported PTI.
“There will be relaxation in coronavirus curfew in all the districts of the state from Wednesday onwards, from 7 am to 7 pm, for five days as the active Covid cases have come below 600,” an official state government spokesperson said. However, the night curfew between 7 pm and 7 am and weekend curfew throughout the day will continue, the spokesperson added.
The decision was taken after a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Adityanath on the coronavirus situation.
On May 30, the state government had eased restrictions in districts with less than 600 active cases. It added that markets in these areas can open from 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays.
On Tuesday, the government spokesperson said that coronavirus cases were declining in the state. “Only 797 new cases were reported in the state in the past 24 hours,” the spokesperson said. “Now, there are 14,000 active cases in the state.”
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Madhya Pradesh
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government on Monday extended the curfew imposed in the state till June 15, The Times of India reported.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said people need to be cautious despite the situation being under control. “We have to see what caused the second wave, on the basis of which we can stop the third wave,” he said.
On Monday, the state reported 571 new coronavirus cases and 32 fatalities. With this, the tally mounted to 7,85,767 and the toll rose to 8,369.
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