Jharkhand tightens COVID restrictions; no physical classes in schools

RANCHI: In view of the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Jharkhand government has tightened its Covid-19 restrictions.

In an official order by the state government said All shops, restaurants, clubs shall not remain open after 8 pm. However, take-home/ home delivery shall be permitted.

Not more than 5 persons shall congregate at public places, it said.

All schools shall be closed and education shall be provided online or by digital content. However, offline classes for class 10 and class 12 who shall be taking the board exam in the year 2021 are permitted. These offline classes shall not be mandatory and students shall attend only with a prior consent of their parents.

All gymnasium/swimming pools shall be closed. Similarly, all parks shall be closed. All sports events shall be prohibited. However, sportspersons are permitted to train in the stadium. All fairs and exhibitions are prohibited.

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan had on Tuesday chaired a high-level review meeting with Health Ministers, Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries (Health) of States/UTs of Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan. These states have been reporting very high rise in daily cases and daily mortality because of COVID-19 in the last two weeks.

After a detailed and comprehensive review of the measures taken by the States/UTs, the Union Health Minister concluded that these 11 States together contribute to 54 pc of the total cases and 65 pc of the total deaths in the country, as per the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday.

On March 27, the Jharkhand government issued guidelines and prohibits celebrations of Holi, Shab-e-Barat, Navratri, Ramnavami, and Easter at public places to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state.