With Bihar’s coronavirus tally within the touching distance of 20,000-mark, the state government decided on Tuesday to extend lockdown from July 16 to 31 hoping to contain the spread of the disease. The decision was taken in a meeting held by the crisis management group of the state government, officials said.

Guidelines governing the 16-day long lockdown period were being prepared, said deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. The fresh restrictions are likely to include curb on public transport within the state and hosting of mass activities that are conducive to the spread of the disease, reported PTI.

Bihar currently has 17,959 Covid positive cases as on Tuesday according to the union health ministry’s data. 1,432 new cases were reported on Tuesday.

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Patna, Bhagalpur and Begusarai are the worst affected districts in the state.

Patna is already under increase restrictions, to prevent conditions including crowding that are leading to a spurt in the disease. District authorities have warned of cracking the whip against errant individuals and traders defying social distancing norms.

Bihar, with 69.09 percent recovery rate, remains among states with a higher percentage than the national recovery rate of 63.02 as of Tuesday.

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India’s Covid-19 tally on Tuesday crossed 9 lakh with a total of 906,752 coronavirus patients registered till date since the outbreak. 571,459 of these patients have recovered while 23,727 have succumbed to death. The number of active cases stands at 311,565.