News Analysis India

Tag: Jharkhand Lockdown

  • Jharkhand lockdown relaxations: Sunday restrictions lifted, students of VI and above can go to schools

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: As the cases of COVID-19 showing a decreasing trend in Jharkhand, the state government has allowed schools to commence classes for students of Grade VI  and above. Announcing more relaxations to the lockdown (Swasth Suraksha Saptah), all shops will be allowed to remain open on Sundays along with the hotels and restaurants.

    The decision was taken during a meeting of the Disaster Management department headed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. “Sunday restrictions have been removed completely and all shops and business establishments may remain open from now onwards,” said Health Minister Banna Gupta. Hotels and restaurants have been allowed to open till 11 pm, which earlier were asked to close at 10 pm only, he added.

    The minister said that schools have also been allowed to commence classes for standard VI onwards. The students, however, will be allowed to attend classes only with the consent of their parents, he added.

    In addition to that, the minister said, all religious places have been allowed to open for devotees which certain restrictions. “A maximum of 50 devotees will be allowed to enter in small temples, while in big temples, the maximum limit will be of 100 devotees every hour,” said Gupta. It will be mandatory to take at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine for the priests and other people managing the religious places, he added.

    Gupta said that there will also be a restriction on the entry of devotees below 18 years of age and aggregation of more than 50 per cent of its total capacity at a religious place, he said.

  • Jharkhand extends COVID lockdown till June 16 with more relaxations

    By Express News Service
    RANCHI: Jharkhand government has extended the partial lockdown to another one week with more relaxations till June 16. According to an official communiqué released from Chief Minster’s Office, all shops will remain open till 4 pm across the state except Jamshedpur where a sudden rise in COVID cases has been registered on Tuesday.

    The decision was taken during a meeting of Chief Minister Hemant Soren with the State Disaster Management Authority and other top officials of the state government. There will be complete lockdown all over the State from 5pm on Saturday (June 12) to 6 am on Monday (June 14), it said.

    Meanwhile, compulsion of e-pass will remain for inter-district and inter-state movement of private vehicles.

    “Looking at the condition of rising COVID cases in Jamshedpur, curbs will continue there as it is and all shops, except that of garments, jewelry and salons will remain open till 2 pm only,” said Health Minister Banna Gupta.

    All education centres and coaching institutions would continue to remain shut until further orders. Besides that, the state government has also postponed all examinations. Cinema halls, multiplexes, stadiums, gymnasiums, swimming pools and parks among others would also remain closed in the state.

    Offices under the state and central government along with private ones will function with 33 per cent strength till 4 pm.

    Meanwhile, restrictions will continue on malls and multi-brand shops in all 24 districts, where the shops have been allowed to remain open from 6 am to 2 pm. In addition to that, curbs will remain as earlier on swimming pool, park, gymnasiums, multiplexes, cinema halls, saloons etc.

  • COVID-19: Jharkhand under complete lockdown from June 12 to June 14

    By ANI
    RANCHI: In order to combat COVID-19 pandemic, the Jharkhand government on Wednesday announced a complete lockdown from June 12 at 5 pm till June 14 at 6 am, exempting essential services.

    Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta informed that the government has extended the hours of operation for shops in the state, except Jamshedpur.

    The shops will now be allowed to operate till 4 pm.

    The detail guidelines of the lockdown will be soon issued by the government.

    The state has as many as 5,099 active cases presently, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

  • Jharkhand govt extends partial lockdown for another one week with relaxations

    By Express News Service
    RANCHI: The partial lockdown (Swasthya Suraksha Saptah), imposed in Jharkhand since April 22, has further been extended for another week till June 10 with certain relaxations.

    The decision was taken during Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s meeting with the State Disaster Management Authority and other top officials of the state government. According to an official communiqué released from Chief Minster’s Office, the compulsion of e-pass for moving inside districts has been removed while it will be compulsory for inter-district movement of private vehicles. It also stated that shops, other than clothes, jewellery and shoes, have been allowed to open in the nine districts which witnessed a higher number of COVID cases while in the remaining 15 districts all the shops may be opened.

    The nine districts which reported the maximum number of COVID cases are Bokaro, Dhanbad, East Singhbhum, Deoghar, Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Garhwa, Gumla and Ramgarh.

    Meanwhile, restrictions will continue on malls and multi-brand shops in all 24 districts, where the shops have been allowed to remain open from 6 am to 2 pm. In addition to that, curbs will remain as earlier on swimming pool, park, gymnasiums, multiplexes, cinema halls, saloons etc.

  • Covid deaths continue to decline in Jharkhand; number dips to 37, lowest in May

    By PTI
    RANCHI: Jharkhand continues to witness a declining trend in Covid-19 deaths amid signs that the second wave of the pandemic is ebbing, the state recorded 37 deaths in the last 24 hours, the lowest in May, the health department said in a bulletin on Monday.

    The state recorded 1,345 new cases, 692 less than Sunday’s figure, taking the tally to 3,30,417, the bulletin said.

    Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the daily infection rate has declined by 50 per cent from earlier times but till a single death takes place in the state, the war against the second wave will not be over.

    The government is making all efforts to save both “livelihood and life” and will soon decide on extending the ongoing lockdown which is scheduled to come to an end on May 27.

    The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state has seen significant improvement as it reached 92.63 per cent, better than the national average of 88.30 per cent.

    With 37 fresh fatalities, the COVID-19 death toll in the state has climbed to 4,838.

    The state had registered the highest number of 159 fatalities this month on May 2.

    State capital Ranchi, which has been severely impacted by the virus, recorded 12 deaths during the last 24 hours while East Singhbhum saw nine fatalities.

    The remaining deaths were reported from several other districts.

    No fresh fatality has been reported from 12 of the 24 districts in the state.

    These 12 districts are Chatra, Dumka, Giridih, Godda, Gumla, Jamtara, Khunti, Koderma, Latehar, Lohardaga, Pakur and Saraikela.

    However, the mortality rate in the state remained higher at 1.46 per cent than the national average of 1.10 per cent.

    The state now has 19,499 active cases, while 3,06,080 patients have recovered from the infection, the bulletin said.

    Altogether, 81,00,704 samples have been tested in Jharkhand thus far, including 41,251 since Sunday, it added.

    A look at the health bulletin of the state suggests that prominent cities of Jharkhand like Ranchi, East Singhbhum with headquarter at Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Hazaribag are witnessing high COVID-19 cases.

    Relatively backward districts including Dumka, Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Koderma, Latehar and Pakur are logging a lesser number of infections.

    Battling a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases during the second wave, the state government has extended the lockdown till May 27.

    Restrictions with stricter provisions, including seven days mandatory quarantine for people visiting the state, are now in place.

    The state has suspended the operation of intra- and inter-city bus services and put a cap on people attending weddings at 11 among others.

    In a bid to protect its citizens from the deadly disease, Jharkhand government has constituted block level task forces besides launching a free vaccination drive for people in the age group of 18 to 44 years on May 14.

    Over 1.57 crore people in the state are in the 18-44 years age bracket.

    The state government could not roll out the inoculation drive for these people from May 1 as it was facing a shortage of vaccines.

  • Fearing exclusion of smartphone-less tribals, Jharkhand seeks to use own app for vaccination

    By PTI
    RANCHI: Fearing exclusion of a large chunk of the tribal people in the ongoing vaccination drive against Covid-19 due to non-availability of smartphones among many of them and access to internet in remote areas, the Jharkhand government wants to use its own “more user-friendly” app for registration.

    It has been made mandatory for people in the 18-45 age group to register themselves at Co-WIN to get the vaccine.

    Jharkhand government officials, however, said that JHAR-WIN, the state’s app, has an edge over Co-Win in many ways and it is suited for a state where a large number of people are poor tribals living in villages.

    The JHAR-WIN app works both online and offline and is backed up with a call centre to facilitate registration of low-digitally literate population group and can provide on the spot registration at vaccination centres, officials said.

    Considering the issue of non-delivery of SMS/OTP and to make it more user-friendly, OTP authentication has been removed in JHAR-WIN which is available in both English and Hindi, they said.

    “The Co-WIN platform and the process of registration by design perpetuate digital exclusion and inequality especially in a state like Jharkhand.

    With a high tribal and marginal population mostly in rural areas and the rising threat of the virus in villages, it is necessary to ensure no one is left out, an official in the Chief Minister’s Office told PTI.

    Jharkhand has one of the largest tribal populations in the country inhabited by over 32 Schedule Tribes and other marginalised indigenous people.

    According to the 2011 census, the state has 86.45 lakh tribal people, 27 per cent of the total population of 3.29 crore.

    “The state’s application/portal with a dedicated call centre and help desk will ensure each person is included irrespective of digital literacy or skill,” the CMO official said.

    The Jharkhand government has filed a plea in the Supreme Court praying for a direction to the Centre to allow the state to use its own app and portal for registration for Covid-19 vaccination, the official said.

    The official said that following the commencement of Phase 3 vaccination for the 18-45 years age group, Jharkhand is facing a major difficulty in registering potential beneficiaries as there are issues of digital literacy and digital exclusion, apart from glitches in the portal especially in rural areas.

    Unlike Co-WIN where slot booking is made mandatory for getting the jab, JHAR-WIN allows a person to directly reach the nearest vaccination centre and avail facility, the official said.

    The option for walk-in, as was available in case of vaccination for 45 years plus population, is not there for the age group of 18-45 years which comprises approximately 1.4 crore in Jharkhand.

    The state says that its application for registration for vaccination is user-friendly, more practical and best suited for Jharkhand as its scheduled areas have seen low human development indices, backwardness, remoteness and poverty, and social indicators in its tribal pockets are inferior to the state average.

    “Being a state with heavy forest cover and tough terrain, Jharkhand has many villages that comes under network shadow area. Unlike Co-WIN, Jharkhand’s State Portal (http://amritvahini.in) will support people in the remotest of the areas irrespective of network connectivity.

    “Rural and tribal population of the state can easily reach vaccination centres and get benefits of it with the same ease as urban population making ‘vaccination for all’ true in both letter and spirit,” the official added.

    Unlike Co-WIN that mandates Captcha authentication which is image-based and requires a good internet connection and a tech-savvy person, Jharkhand’s state portal has removed it making it faster and easy to use, he said.

    Battling a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases during the second wave, the state government has extended the lockdown till May 27.

    The state continued to show easing of coronavirus rage with the state reporting 60 new COVID deaths and 2,056 positive cases on Friday, a health department bulletin said.

    The total fatalities have risen to 4,714, while the state’s caseload spiked to 3,24,884.

    Till four-five days back, the state was logging more than 100 casualties due to coronavirus and around 5000 infections daily.

    The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state now stands at 90.38 per cent, better than the national average of 86.70 per cent.

    Capital Ranchi which has been struggling with a high number of cases saw 14 deaths while East Singhbhum which has also been consistently recording high fatalities reported eight deaths.

    No deaths have been reported from Dumka, Latehar, Pakur and Simdega during the last 24 hours, the bulletin said.

    The mineral-rich state now has 26,511 active COVID-19 cases, while 2,93,659 patients have recovered from the infection, it said.

    Fatalities in Bokaro were recorded at 9 during the last 24 hours while four deaths were recorded from Khunti.

    Giridih and Godda saw three deaths each during the last 24 hours.

    Dhanbad, Garhwa, Gumla, Hazaribag and Jamtara recorded two deaths each while one death each was recorded in Chatra, Deoghar, Koderma, Lohardaga, Palamu, Ramgarh, Sahebganj, Sariakela and West Sinbhum.

    Battling a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases during the second wave, the state government has extended the lockdown till May 27.

    Restrictions with stricter provisions, including seven days mandatory quarantine for people visiting the state, are now in place.

    Altogether, 79,44,728 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in Jharkhand thus far, including 50,504 since Thursday, it added.

    The mortality rate in the state remained higher at 1.45 per cent as against the nation’s 1.10 per cent.

    Battling a severe second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, the Jharkhand government has set up a task force at block level to map and more effectively contain the virus.

    Adopting a multi-pronged strategy, it began the massive public health survey exercise Wednesday which will be carried out till May 25.

    In a bid to protect its citizens from the deadly virus, the Jharkhand government had on May 14 launched a free vaccination drive for people in the age group of 18 to 44 years.

  • Amid Jharkhand’s claims of being oxygen surplus state, 186 cylinders go missing from Hazaribag hospital

    By PTI
    RANCHI: The police in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag district on Tuesday said that it has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the disappearance of 186 oxygen cylinders and 60 regulators from a hospital.

    Headed by SDPO Hazaribag Mahesh Prajapati, the five- member SIT is conducting raids at various places to nab the culprits, Superintendent of Police Karthik S said.

    An FIR was registered after the oxygen cylidners and regulators were found missing from Hazaribag Medical College and Hospital on Sunday.

    The police are interrogating five persons including a ward boy of the hospital who was named in the FIR, the SP said.

    The SIT is also examining documents from the hospital where more than 160 COVID-19 patients are currently admitted.

    The development came on Tuesday amid the state saying it is moving towards becoming a medical oxygen surplus state and is gearing up to cater to the needs of other states.

    The state has constituted an oxygen task force to ensure uninterrupted supply of the life saving thing for patients.

    Amid the state battling the second surge of COVID-19 pandemic, continuous efforts are being made to augment the health infrastructure and boost oxygen supply by setting up oxygen banks in all districts and plants in Sadar hospitals, a state government spokesperson said.

    Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday had also inaugurated a 80-bed coronavirus care centre at West Bokaro in Ramgarh set up by Tata Steel.

    “Despite limited resources, continuous efforts made by the government brought success. The government is working towards setting up an oxygen bank in all the districts and setting up an oxygen plant in the Sadar hospitals across the state.

    “As of now, there is no shortage of oxygen supply in the state and Jharkhand is heading towards becoming an oxygen surplus state,” the spokesperson said.

    Terming the second wave as “worrying” and “fatal”, an official statement quoted the National Clinical Registry saying that issues related to breathing difficulties in the first wave was 41.7 per cent, which increased to 47.5 per cent in the second wave.

    It said given the surge in demand for medical oxygen, the state machinery constituted task forces which worked on a war footing to map the medical oxygen supply chain in the state and ensured uninterrupted supply of oxygen to hospitals.

    “As of April 2021, there were 12 oxygen refilling units in the state. These units could refill 6,000 to 7,000 cylinders per day. 315 tonnes of oxygen was being produced by five oxygen manufacturers operating in the state.”

    “By 22 April, this was increased to 570 tonnes per day. The work of increasing the capacity of oxygen production in the state is still in progress,” the statement said.

    It said there was a daily demand of 80 to 100 tonnes of oxygen in the state till April 22 while state could produce far more and oxygen was supplied to other states.

    The statement said in April ,1824 new oxygen supported beds were made available in the entire state and efforts were made to ensure that at least 50 oxygen supported beds are available in every district.

    At present, the number of oxygen supported beds in most districts is sufficient enough to meet the current demand, it added.

    A new Covid Care Centre in the multi-level parking of RIMS, equipped with 327 oxygen supported beds was set up recently.

    To ensure the availability of oxygen in the hospitals, Sanjeevani vehicles were introduced by the state which carry oxygen cylinders to hospitals in case of SOS.

    The state reported 60 fresh COVID-19 fatalities taking the death toll to 4,539, while 2,507 new cases pushed the tally to 3,18,009, a health department bulletin said.

    The mineral-rich state now has 33,524 active cases, while 2,79,946 patients have recovered from the infection, it said.

    The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state now stands at 88.03 per cent, better than the national average of 84.80 per cent.

    State capital Ranchi, which has been severely impacted by the virus, recorded 10 deaths during the day, as against 18 on Monday, 19 on Saturday, 28 on Saturday, and 40 fatalities on Friday.

    For the first time in May, East Singhbhum with 12 COVID-19 deaths recorded higher fatalities than Ranchi.

    On Monday the district had recorded 7 COVID-19 deaths.

    Seven deaths were recorded in Bokaro, followed by six in Hazaribag, four in Dhanbad and three in West Singhbhum.

    Two fatalities each were reported from Chatra, Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Ramgarh, and Simdega.

    Jamtara, Khunti, Koderma, Latehar, Palamu, and Saraikela recorded one death each.

    No deaths have been reported from six of the 24 districts in the state during the last 24 hours.

    The six districts are Deoghar, Dumka, Godda, Lohardaga, Pakur, and Sahebganj.

    A look at the health bulletin of the state suggests that prominent cities of Jharkhand like Ranchi, East Singhbhum with headquarter at Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, and Hazaribag are witnessing high COVID-19 cases, while relatively backward districts including Chatra, Gumla, Latehar, and Pakur are logging a lesser number of infections.

    Battling a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases during the second wave, the state government has extended the lockdown till May 27.

    Restrictions with stricter provisions, including seven days mandatory quarantine for people visiting the state, are now in place.

    Altogether, 77,88,630 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in Jharkhand thus far, including 52,887 since Monday, it added.

    The mortality rate in the state remained higher at 1.42 per cent as against the nation’s 1.10 per cent.

    In a bid to protect its citizens from the deadly virus, the Jharkhand government had on May 14 launched a free vaccination drive for people in the age group of 18 to 44 years.

    Over 1.57 crore people in the state are in the 18-44 years age bracket.

    The state government could not roll out the inoculation drive for these people from May 1 as it was facing a shortage of vaccines.

  • Jharkhand extends lockdown till May 27 with additional restrictions

    By Express News Service
    RANCHI: The partial lockdown (Swasthya Suraksha Saptah), imposed in Jharkhand since April 22, has been extended for another two weeks till May 27 with some additional restrictions. 

    According to an official communique released by the Chief Minster’s Office, some strict measures will have to be followed from May 16 in order to break the chain of Covid.

    The decision was taken on Wednesday during a meeting conducted by Chief Minister Hemant Soren with the disaster management department and other top officials of the State Government. Essential services, however, will be exempted during the weeklong lockdown, barring those of the central and state government along with some other private offices identified by the Government, will also remain closed.

    “Movement of inter-state and intra-state buses will be restricted while private vehicles will be allowed to move only with e-passes issued by the district administration,” stated the release. Marriages could take place at home or in the court, for which only 11 people will be allowed to take part in it, it said.

    “There will be a complete restriction on any gathering during marriages. Social distancing will also have to be maintained strictly in shops and markets,” further stated the release.

    In addition to that, everyone coming from outside the state will have to undergo institutional or home quarantine for seven days. It will not be applicable to those people who return to their states within 72 hours, it said.

  • COVID test, week-long quarantine must for migrant workers returning to Jharkhand

    By PTI
    RANCHI: The Jharkhand government on Wednesday announced that all migrant workers returning to the state will have to undergo COVID test on arrival and a mandatory week-long quarantine.

    The decision was taken to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, particularly in rural areas, amid a surge in cases over the last fortnight, officials said.

    “All migrant workers coming back to the state of Jharkhand shall be tested (RAT) on arrival. Those migrant workers who test negative shall be quarantined for 7 days in institutional quarantine facilities to be set up at appropriate level by the respective district administration,” Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh said in an order.

    The migrant workers will be tested again before departure for home from the quarantine facilities, he said.

    “Those tested positive in any of the two tests mentioned above shall be managed as per protocol of Department of Health and Family Welfare,” the order mentioned.

    The government is expecting that a large number of migrant workers will be returning from other parts of the country with several states announcing lockdown amid the COVID crisis, affecting economic activities, officials said.

    “The situation of Covid -19 has been reviewed and it has been observed that there has been an exponential rise in Covid-19 cases in the state during the last fortnight and it is estimated that large scale inflow of migrants back to respective villages may pose a considerable threat of spread of Covid-19 in rural areas of Jharkhand,” the order said.

  • Jharkhand extends restrictive measures till May 6 as COVID cases continue to surge

    By PTI
    RANCHI: In view of the deteriorating coronavirus situation in Jharkhand, the state government on Wednesday extended the restrictive measures for a week from 6 am on April 29, an official said in Ranchi.

    Chief Minister Hemant Soren had on April 20 declared a seven-day lockdown-like restriction starting from April 22, saying that the period would be observed as “health safety week”.

    The state government, in a high-level meeting chaired by Soren during the day, decided to extend the health safety week till 6 am on May 6, the official said.

    He said that the people must follow the restrictive measure.

    It was also decided at the meeting that shops will remain open till 2 pm.

    The official said that now people in the state will be allowed to move in public places till 3 pm.

    The chief minister had said on April 20 that except identified offices of central and state governments and those in the private sector, all others will remain shut during the health safety week.

    Agriculture, industries and mining operations will function during the period.

    Religious places will remain open but devotees in fixed numbers will be allowed, he had said.

    The number of deaths due to COVID-19 has been steadily increasing in the state.

    In the last 24 hours, 131 people succumbed to the disease while 6,020 more people tested positive for the infection.