Bihar Govt Extends Lockdown Till September 6 As COVID-19 Tally Crosses 1 Lakh Mark

All the essential and other services, which were allowed in the state earlier, will continue to be permitted under the extended lockdown.

(Representational Photo - Arun SANKAR / AFP)

New Delhi: Amid the surging number of Coronavirus cases in Bihar, the state government has announced the extension of the ongoing lockdown in the state till September 6. In an official statement issued on Monday, Home Department of the Government of Bihar stated that "In view of the present situation of COVID-19 in the State of Bihar, in exercise of the powers, conferred by the MHA by the aforesaid instructions, in continuation of the MHA order, the restrictions imposed issued by this department order wide memo no. 102/f4.F.31t dated 30.7.2020 imposing further restrictions will remain effective till 06.09.2020." Going by the Unlock 3.0 guidelines issued by the Central government, the lockdown restrictions will be imposed in containment zones and other areas in order to contain the spread of the virus. However, all the essential and other services, which were allowed in the state earlier, will continue to be permitted under the extended lockdown.

Restrictions imposed in the state extended till 6th September: Government of Bihar. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/fib9xsgX5H

— ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2020

The development has come at the time when Bihar's COVID-19 tally inched to 1.04 lakh on Sunday with as many as 2,187 fresh cases registered in the state. As per the health bulletin, Patna district registered the highest number of COVID-19 cases - 255, followed by Bhagalpur - 177, Madhubani - 127, Aurangabad - 113 and Muzaffarpur and Saharsa - 97 each. At the same time, the state capital has reported 16,621 virus cases so far. Informing about the fatalities, the bulletin mentioned that Bihar recorded 22 COVID-19 related deaths on Sunday, pushing the death toll to 537. Of these, Patna district registered five deaths, Gaya saw four, two each in East Champaran and Rohtas and one each in Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Buxar, Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Munger, Nawada, West Champaran and Siwan districts.