A complete lockdown will be imposed in Bihar from July 16 to 31 July to restrain the coronavirus outbreak, Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi announced on Tuesday. However, there will be no restrictions on emergency services. The guidelines of the newly imposed lockdown are being prepared.
The proposal in this regard was prepared on Monday. The Crisis Management Group (CMG) conducted a meeting on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar and declared the lockdown.
Earlier today, as many as 75 BJP leaders have been tested positive for COVID-19 at the BJP office in Patna. Bihar goes to polls later this year, the party’s preferred leaders are running a legislature-wise virtual rally. The party leaders are constantly meeting in their office. The BJP meeting was organised at the party office in Patna, where leaders of several cells were participating continuously.
With 1,432 new COVID-19 cases, Bihar total number of infection tally reached 18,853. Patna, with 2,097 confirmed cases and 15 deaths so far, has been the worst hit by the outbreak, followed by Bhagalpur with 1,074 infections and 12 fatalities. Other districts with a high number of cases are Begusarai (813), Muzaffarpur (787), Siwan (711), Munger (646), and Madhubani (632).
Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi has ordered closure of at least three wholesale vegetable markets Mithapur, Kankarbagh and Rajendra Nagar.
According to the Bihar Health Department, 9,129 samples were tested in the past 24 hours. As many as 12,364 people have recovered so far and the recovery rate 70.97 per cent is higher than the national average of 63.02 per cent.
The Bihar government on Monday announced fresh lockdown in two districts of Sitamarhi and Lakhisarai and decided to extend the shutdown in three districts– Nawada, Buxar, and Supaul. With this, lockdown is now imposed in 20 districts across the state.