A Complete lockdown has been imposed in Bihar and Odisha to contain the spread of Coronavirus. Bihar government has imposed a complete lockdown in the state till the 15th of this month to contain the spread of Corona. Vaccination centers, banks, and essential services will remain functional during the lockdown.
As per new guidelines, government offices and public corporations will remain closed. All educational institutions, private and commercial establishments will also remain closed. Cinema halls, Shopping malls, Gyms, stadiums and parks have also been closed. Movement of public transport except train and flights has been stopped. Transport of emergency services has been allowed.
However, ration shops, dairy, vegetables, and meat shops will remain open between 7 am and 11 am.
Home delivery from restaurants will be allowed from 9 am to 9 pm. All places of worship and religious gatherings will also be closed. The concerned authorities have been instructed to encourage home delivery to minimize the movement of individuals outside their homes.
A marriage ceremony with a limit of 50 persons has been allowed. For the marriage, ceremony permission has to be taken three days in advance from the concerned police station. Only 20 persons will be permitted in funeral processions.
Odisha government has also imposed a state-wide lockdown for 14 days beginning today. The lockdown will be effective till the 19th of this month. State's Covid active caseload has jumped to 73,548 with the detection of 8,216 new cases yesterday. AIR correspondent reports, the state that used to report a peak of 4 to 5 thousand infections per day, during the first wave of the pandemic last year, has suddenly been confronted with daily highs of 8 to 10 thousand new cases. The 14 days' statewide lockdown that aims at an early arrest of the virus, has spared certain essential activities including health services, covid test, vaccination, and movement of goods, among others. Certain utility services like petrol pumps, cooking gas, ATMs,s and postal services have also been exempted from the lockdown.
People will be allowed to walk down to the nearest roadside or street corner shops within 500 meters of their residence to purchase food items on all weekdays only between 6 in the morning to 12 noon. While marriage functions with a cap of 50 participants and funeral related rituals with a maximum of 20 participants will be allowed with prior approval and with full adherence to covid 19 protocols, all sorts of socio, religious, political, cultural, sports, and entertainment-related congregations will remain barred during the period.