State extends lockdown till May 13 as cases soar

No fresh restrictions announced; However, offices of the state govt to now function at old timings

AS MANY AS 72,394 COVID-19 CASES RECORDED SINCE THE FIRST WEEKLONG LOCKDOWN CAME INTO EFFECT ON APRIL 22

RANCHI: The state government on Wednesday extended the weeklong lockdown, Swasthya Surakasha Saptah (SSS), for another week till May 13 in a bid to contain the rapidly spreading coronavirus infection in the state, officials said.

However, no fresh restrictions were announced in the new order issued by the state disaster management department.

All the restrictions issued in the last lockdown order will continue to prevail, excluding the timing for the state government offices. The order says that state government offices will be permitted to function till normal office hours instead of 2pm, that was earlier announced.

Chief minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday visited various places in capital city earlier in the day to take stock of the situation and inspect compliance of the ongoing lockdown.

He appealed people to follow the SSS guidelines in a bid to check the spread of the virus.

The SSS was first imposed across the state from 6am on April 22 till April 29 after the state witnessed a sudden and rapid surge in cases.

The lockdown was later extended till May 6.

The state recorded 72,394 Covid-19 cases since the first weeklong lockdown came into effect on April 22 till May 4, while as many as 1,490 people died due to the disease during the period