An uneasy quiet prevailed across the capital on Tuesday, a day after the state government ordered the shutdown of academic institutions, swimming pools, gyms, parks and other public places till April 14 to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Chief minister Hemant Soren, chief secretary D.K. Tiwari and other senior officials assured people that the situation in Jharkhand was under control and shutdown was a part of preventive measures only. So far, not a single coronavirus positive case has surfaced in Jharkhand.

But many people were so panicky that they rushed to departmental stores to stock essentials.

An employee of a large departmental store said that was the trend since Monday evening after the state government announced lockdown. “Stocks of handwash bottles and pouches, mustard oil, wheat, pulses just flew,” he said. “We were puzzled. A single person purchased over a dozen large bottles of liquid hand wash. Ultimately we started telling customers not to stock items in bulk or believe in rumours that there will be a scarcity of essential commodities.”

A grocery shop owner Pankaj Kumar said he has been witnessing customers coming and buying things in bulk. “I am telling them there is no crisis but people are adamant,” he said.

Parks and multiplexes were closed. Malls were open with a directive to provide precautions to visitors, but they wore a deserted look.

Schools remained close, except for those where board exams were on.

A teacher at a school where Class XII CBSE board exams were on said the CBSE issued guidelines on how to hold the examination. “In one classroom only 12 students were accommodated at the most. They were given hand sanitizer. Almost all students had worn masks,” said the teacher.

HC directive

Jharkhand High Court held a full court meeting headed by Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan on Tuesday to discuss the threat of coronavirus in Jharkhand. The full court decided only urgent matters and bail applications will be listed before high court and issued directives to district courts to grant adjournments and suspend trials. Bails and injunctions will be heard by the lower courts. The order will remain in force for the next 15 days.

Assembly

Jharkhand Assembly premises on Tuesday looked less crowded after the Assembly secretariat restricted entry of visitors, including staffs and associates of MLAs.

Only MLAs, Assembly and government officials, staffs and mediapersons were allowed entry.

BJP’s Kanke MLA Samri Lal had covered his face with a scarf. Congress Barkagaon MLA Amba Prasad wore a mask. Some of the Assembly employees covered their faces with handkerchiefs.

Runaways

In Giridih district, a student of Subhash Institute of Technology, who had cough and fever, ran away from the hospital’s isolation ward on Monday evening.

The student is from Purnea district of Bihar. Giridih civil surgeon Awdhesh Kumar Sinha said they informed the district police. He seems to have gone home. The boy has no travel history and he had not come in contact with any affected person. It seems that he had viral fever but got so panicky that he ran away,” Sinha said.

A Gumla man in Bishunpur, who returned from Kerala, and was apparently suffering from cough and fever, went missing from his village after he was asked by villagers to stay away till got his medical check-up done. “It is not confirmed if he was suffering from cough and fever. We have traced him and he is being taken to the hospital for check-up,” said Gumla DC Shashi Ranjan.