Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief  Minister Hemant Soren  on Saturday said that the  peak of Coronavirus is yet  not over. The Chief Minister on  his social media page  wrote that as long as a  single Jharkhandi is dying  the peak is still there, the  danger is prevailing and  it is neither the time to  become happy or sit back  and relax. He said that the  recovery rate in the state  has gone beyond 90 per  cent and for the last few  days the infection rate  is around 4 per cent. He  said that these figures are  encouraging for the state  for which the healthcare  staff and each person  involved in the battle  against Coronavirus and  people of the state needed  to be congratulated. 

The Chief Minister said   that now the government  has accorded focus on  increasing the testing,  tracking and treatment in  rural areas. He said that  as part of preparations for  the third phase apart from  necessary steps are being  taken. He said that he was  aware of the fact that  people are facing problems  due to registration for  vaccines and all necessary  steps are being taken to  sort out the issue and soon  it will be solved. 

The Chief Minister  requested the people not  to come out of their homes  without masks. He said  that vaccines are being  provided from the taxes  paid by the people and are  completely safe therefore  they should come forward  to take the vaccination and  also encourage others to  do the same. 

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday extended the COVID curfew, which was suppose to end on May 23, by another week till May 31 in all 20 districts of the Union Territory amid no letup in the number of fresh coronavirus cases and deaths.An official said COVID curfew imposed in all 20 districts of J&K till 0700 hrs on May 24 has been extended further till 0700 hrs on May 31. ‘Curfew will be strict except for a few essential services,’ he said, adding Deputy Commissioners have been given limited flexibility to ensure economic activities do not suffer.

This is the fourth successive extension of COVID curfew in the valley since April 29. The extension has come in the backdrop of no letup in the number of COVID-19 cases in J&K, particularly the summer capital, Srinagar, which has recorded the major chunk of positive cases during the last over a month.As many as 3848 people, including 2406 from Kashmir and 1441 from Jammu, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday in the UT, where 43 people lost their lives due to the infection. Srinagar recorded the highest number of 598 positive cases on Friday, followed by Jammu with 401 cases. Barring Shopian, all the districts in Kashmir division had positive cases in three digits.

However, ignoring personal safety, besides appeals by ulmas and religious scholars to adhere to COVID curfew imposed to break the chain, people are still
hitting the streets in the valley, where thousands of violators have been fined and arrested while hundreds of vehicles have been seized since April 29.

On April 29, the  Jammu and Kashmir administration imposed curfew in 11 districts to curtail the spread of COVID-19, which was subsequently extended to
all the 20 districts in the Union Territory the next day. The curfew that was supposed to end on May 3 was extended in Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla and Jammu till May 6. However, the Deputy Commissioners of the remaining seven districts in the valley extended the lockdown till May 6 separately. The COVID curfew was later extended till May 10 and then till May 17. The lockdown was again extended till May 31 on Saturday by the administration.

The administration last month ordered the closure of all universities, colleges, schools, and coaching centres in the Union Territory till May 15 though teaching and non-teaching staff was asked to attend schools and colleges. But, the J&K administration later allowed teaching and non-teaching staff to stay home in view of a surge in COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir. The closure of the educational institutes was later extended till May 30.

Teachers, however, are conducting online classes from home in the valley though many students alleged that they were unable to attend these classes due to non-availability of smart phones.