In Bihar, a complete lockdown has been imposed from today for 16 days in the entire state to contain the spread of COVID-19. It will be effective till the 31st of July. The decision has been taken due to an alarming spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state during the last three weeks.

All government offices, public corporations and educational institutions will remain closed. Private and commercial establishments will remain closed.

However, ration shops, dairy, vegetable and meat shops will remain open. All places of worship will also remain closed and religious gatherings will not be permitted. All kinds of e-commerce and home delivery will be allowed. Public transport service will also be allowed in the lockdown period.

Private vehicles will be limited to essential works only. Train and flight services and all construction-related activities will be allowed along with the functioning of construction-related shops. Similarly, agriculture-related activities will also be allowed.

According to the latest reports, 1,320 new COVID-19 cases were reported during the last 24 hours. The total number of affected people in the state has reached 20,173 while 13,533 people have recovered so far. The recovery rate in Bihar stands at over 67 percent. In all, 174 people including two doctors have died due to Coronavirus in the state so far. Apart from this, 69 security officials of Raj Bhawan and Patna High Court also tested positive.

Recently, the Bihar government has taken the decision to provide food grains under the mid-day meal schemes and cash to over two crore children of primary and middle schools across the state during lockdown and summer vacation period. Every enrolled student will get the benefit of this scheme.

Eight kg foodgrains and rupees 358 will be given to each student of up to class five for the month of May, June, and July. Similarly, students up to class eight will get 12 kg of food

Additional Chief Secretary R K Mahajan said all DMs and concerned officials have been instructed in this regard. Foodgrains will be provided to the guardian of the student while the cash amount will be transferred into their account through DBT.

Meanwhile the neighbouring state of Jharkhand reported 316 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, it was the biggest ever spike in a single day till now. The total number of COVID-19 cases has crossed the 4,000 marks and presently stands at 4,562. The recovery rate is depleting with more cases being detected every single day, which is currently at 54.47 percent, almost nine percent below the national average.

After the recent rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, two districts of Jharkhand - Hazaribagh and Chatra are reeling under complete Lockdown for a week till July 22. Several cases from the Collectorate, Government Hospital and Police stations have been detected in these two districts. Except for essential services, other institutions and units have been closed by the orders of the DCs of both the districts.

Meanwhile, no person is being allowed to enter the state without an e-pass.