Jharkhand: Liquor shops to open in some areas

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The Jharkhand government is planning to open liquor shops in green and orange zones of the state, sources in the government said. "The state government has decided to open liquor shops in green and orange zones of the state. The state govt has yet to finalise the modalities of opening these shops. The excise department is likely to issue e-pass for liquor sale," a source in the state government told IANS.

Jharkhand is strictly following Lockdown 3. As it is coming to an end, the state government is planning to give some relief in green and orange zones. Besides liquor shops, some other shops could also be allowed to open.

Of the 24 districts, Ranchi and Garwah are in the red zone and the rest in green and orange zones.

The Hemant Soren government agreed to open the liquor shops considering the financial condition of the state, a source said. Several other states took the decision to open the liquor shops with commencement of Lockdown 3 with some relaxations.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases has gone up to 164 in the state. Two more cases were discovered in Jamshedpur on Tuesday. Of the recent 50 coronavirus cases, 38 are migrant labourers.

Among the 164 patients, 41 are women and 123 are men. As per the data provided by the Health Department, so far 26,067 samples have been collected out of which 22,243 have been tested and 22,082 were negative.

The data revealed that the number of persons under surveillance and asymptomatic was 4,836. The number of persons who have completed 28 days of observation stands at 3,325.

The number of persons in quarantine facilities is 10,304 while the number of those kept in home quarantine stands at 1,11,064.

Among the 164 Covid patients, 9 are less than 10 years old, 78 are between 11-30 years, 55 are between 31-50 years, 17 are between 51-70 years and 5 are above 70 years.

Among the patients who have been cured and discharged, 7 are less than 10 years old, 32 are in the age group of 11-30 years, 28 are in the age group of 31-50 years while another 8 are in the 51-70 years age group. Three patients are above 70 years who have been cured and discharged.

Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Rai Mahimpat Rey has asked the officials to ensure that the lockdown is followed strictly in the capital.

He asked the officials to make sure that provisions of the lockdown including social distancing and use of face cover or masks is strictly followed at markets, banks, post offices etc. He directed them that outside the markets, banks and post offices, circles should be made at a distance of 6 feet for the people to standm. Further a distance of 15 feet should be maintained between two shops in markets and haats (village markets).

He told them to deploy police personnel at these spots to ensure that social distancing is followed.

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