Government may re-impose lockdown in districts that witness a steep rise in cases of Covid-19 infection in a bid to avert community transmission and ensure wellbeing
of citizens, State Ministers said on Thursday.
However, the Government is not in favour of a statewide lockdown as it may have a detrimental effect on the economy and livelihood of residents, State Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon said.
“Only the districts that have witnessed an unprecedented rise in cases could be locked down,” Oraon said, adding that many other states have taken similar decisions in order to check the transmission of Novel Coronavirus.
The decision, the Minister said, will be taken only if the trend of rapidly rising cases of Covid-19 continues for a considerable period of time in a particular district.
“We know the adverse effects of lockdown on economy and livelihood, so a statewide lockdown is out of question. The wellbeing of our people is paramount and we may have to impose lockdown in some districts for the same,” Oraon said.
State Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam on Thursday said that the Government was keeping an eye on all the happenings, and it may take a call on re-imposition of lockdown if fresh cases of Covid-19 infection keep surfacing in large numbers. “We have kept an eye on the developments. We may take a call depending on the situation,” he said.
Jharkhand witnessed a sudden spike in cases of Covid-19 infection in the past couple of days.
State water resources minister Mithilesh Thakur and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Mathura Mahto tested positive for the virus on Tuesday and are undergoing treatment at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).
As a fallout of legislators testing positive for Covid-19, Chief Minister Hemant Soren decided to quarantine himself at home on Wednesday, and the JMM party office was locked. Besides, several cops, including 27 from Ranchi alone, tested positive for the virus this week.
Jharkhand is still recovering from the jolts of the nationwide lockdown, which was imposed on March 24 in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, officials have said.
The Dtate’s coffers were empty when the lockdown was imposed, and the Government was planning steps for generating revenue.
The lockdown added insult to injury as the Government had to shut down all businesses including liquor sale, one of the major revenue generators for the State, a highly placed source in the excise department said.