Jharkhand has allowed public transport to ply within the state and given the go-ahead for hotels, lodges and restaurants to open for a month till September 30 in view of the JEE-NEET examinations scheduled next month.

In an order issued late on Friday night, the Hemant Soren government also allowed reopening of malls and salons outside containment zones with immediate effect. But all religious places will remain closed, except Baba Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar and Basukinath temple in Dumka that were allowed to open in view of a Supreme Court order.

The ban on the movement of inter-state buses will, however, remain in place.

Chief minister Hemant Soren, who is among several chief ministers of Opposition-ruled states protesting against the timing of holding JEE-NEET in view of the rising number of Covid cases, shared a copy of the latest unlock orders on his twitter handle and appealed to people to follow all safety norms.

Hemant said examinees living in containment zones would be allowed to move out to appear for the exams. “Their admit cards will be deemed as movement permits. They will not need to take any separate permission from local authorities,” he said.

During the time of JEE-NEET, examinees who travel to and from other states will be exempted from the 14-day mandatory quarantine period, the order, signed by chief secretary Sukhdev Singh, noted.

An official of the state disaster management department said, “The order is effective till September 30, after which the government will review the situation and take a fresh call about exemptions. All hotels, lodges that have been allowed to reopen will have to follow the standard operating procedures notified by both the Centre and state.”

He said the state transport department norm of allowing only 50 per cent occupancy in buses was still in force. “That will have to be followed in toto,” he said.