PATNA: With the COVID-19 surge showing a significant drop in Bihar, the Nitish Kumar government on Sunday decided to reopen schools, lift night curfew and relax many other restrictions which have been in place for a month.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the crisis management group which was chaired by the chief minister.
Later, Kumar announced on social media that from Monday onwards, schools will be allowed to hold physical classes with 50 per cent attendance for up to class 8.
For classes 9 upwards, there will be no restrictions.
According to Chaitanya Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, night curfews, in force since January 6 whereby people were asked to stay indoors from 10 PM to 5 AM, was also being done away with.
Cinema halls, gymnasiums, shopping malls, clubs and swimming pools will be allowed to reopen with 50 per cent capacity.
Shops will not be required to down the shutters by 8 PM though strict adherence to COVID-19 protocol will be expected.
The number of attendees allowed at weddings and funerals has been raised from 50 to 200.
Other religious, social, cultural and political gatherings may be held but with prior permission of district administration.
Government offices, functioning with 50 per cent attendance, will now run normally and other visitors to these premises will also be allowed, though entry will be given to only those who have been vaccinated.
The guidelines, which come into force from February 7, will continue till February 13 when the situation will be reviewed afresh.
The state has seen a marked decline in its active caseload, which had shot past 35,000 a month ago, but had fallen below 3,000 on Saturday.
For nearly a week, the daily spike in cases across 38 districts of Bihar has remained in three digits.