The Jharkhand government will enforce a complete lockdown from 4pm on Saturday, June 12 to 6am on Monday, June 14, but essential services will be allowed to operate.

The current lockdown, described as health safety week, has also been extended to 6am on June 17 after which several new relaxations would come into force, as per a detailed notification issued by the state IPRD in the evening.

As per the notification, all shops will be permitted to open in 23 districts except East Singhbhum from June 17. In East Singbhum, shops selling garments, jewellery, footwear and cosmetics will continue to remain closed.

From June 17, shops in all districts will be allowed to function till 4pm against the present closing time of 2pm. Government and private offices will also be able to function till 4pm with one-third staff.

Buses will continue to stay off the road, while e-passes will remain in force for inter-district movement.

Those coming to Jharkhand will have to undergo mandatory seven-day quarantine, barring a few exceptions, said the notification. Educational institutions will remain closed and all examinations conducted by different agencies of the state government will remain postponed.

“Following today’s meeting under the aegis of chief minister Hemant Sorenji related to further course of health safety week, we have now decided to go for complete lockdown from 4pm on Saturday to 6am on Monday to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission. Only essential services will be allowed to operate in this period,” said the health minister Banna Gupta.

He stressed that East Singhbhum (Jamshedpur) remains the only district which is a cause of concern for the state government. “Covid cases are fluctuating there and the declining trend is still not sustainable. Hence, we have decided to keep the existing rules of health safety week intact there, but for the remaining 23 districts, the upcoming relaxations will be applicable,” he said.