Bihar extends lockdown till June 30; to follow Centre's 'Unlock 1.0' norms

A day after Centre extended nationwide lockdown with a phased unlocking plan, Bihar government on Sunday announced that lockdown restriction will continue till June 30 to contain the spread of the deadly virus. The central government has imposed new guidelines as part of 'unlock 1' from June 1, in a move to open up the economy and public life.

In line with the Centre's move, Bihar government is likely to continue restrictions in containment zones till June 30, with a slew of relaxations in other areas.

As per the additional chief secretary Amir Subhani, Bihar will follow the relaxation guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

"Ministry of Home Affairs, Central Government has issued guidelines to check the spread of the coronavirus and extended the lockdown till 30.06.2020. After discussions, the state government has decided to implement the Home Ministry's order and its guidelines".

Meanwhile, 174 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the state during the last 24 hours, taking the total figure to 3,359 in the state. With four deaths, the death toll in the state reached 20 on Saturday.

The MHA on Saturday came up with new guidelines for a phased re-opening of "all activities outside containment zones for the next one-month beginning June 1".

As per the Centre, the first phase called 'Unlock 1' will unlock the country barring the containment zones. Starting Monday, most lockdown restrictions barring those in containment zones would be lifted and inter-state movement of people would be permitted.

In its order issued on Saturday, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has allowed hotels, shopping malls, temples and restaurants to open from June 8 in the first phase. In the second phase, schools, colleges, coaching institutes and other training centres are proposed to be opened in July after stakeholder consultations.

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