Bihar extends Covid-19 lockdown till May 25

Emboldened by the encouraging results in the number of coronavirus cases after lockdown was imposed on May 5, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced an extension of lockdown in the state till May 25.

“I took stock of the Covid situation in the meeting with Cabinet colleagues and senior officials. There was a general consensus that lockdown imposed in Bihar from May 5 to May 15 had shown encouraging signs and helped check the spread of coronavirus. It was, therefore, decided to extend the lockdown by another ten days from May 16 to May 25,” tweeted Nitish in Hindi.

Nitish’s decision is backed by figures as Bihar had been witnessing around 15,000 Covid cases per day (between April 15 and May 5) till lockdown was imposed in the state on May 5. “The figure of positive cases (per day) has now come down to 9,853 (in the last 24 hours) ,” said a Health Department official.

The Opposition, including the RJD and the Congress, have not opposed the lockdown. However, the Left, particularly the CPI-ML, have urged Nitish to provide some relief to the common man by allowing sale of essential items like milk, vegetables, groceries and fruits even in the evening hours. Presently, one can purchase these essential commodities only from 7 am to 11 am.