Chief minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday said that Covid-19 situation in Jharkhand was very much under control, but hinted that his government may initiate additional measures in places with a higher rate of infection, like, for instance, in Ranchi and Jamshedpur.

Speaking with reporters after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with chief ministers to counter the surge in some states, Hemant said Ranchi and Jamshedpur were the two concern areas for the state government.

“In both these places, the numbers of daily cases are more than other districts. In fact, out of 500-odd active cases at the moment, Ranchi and Jamshedpur together account for more than 90 per cent. This is a concern at the moment. It looks as though some more stringent measures are required to arrest the situation," he said, adding that overall Covid situation was not immediately worrisome.

Hemant , however, advised the people of the state to not ignore safety norms. “Please don’t move out without masks and follow all safety precautions,” he said, adding that his government was maintaining regular vigil on the situation.

At Wednesday's interaction with the Prime Minister, Hemant did not get a chance to speak. “The PM mainly spoke with those states that are seeing a surge. Covid-19 is still not over. From our end, we have been already taking a restricted approach in allowing lockdown relaxations. For example, we still haven’t allowed reopening of schools up to class 7, and gatherings of more than 1,000 people,” he said.

About vaccination, Hemant said the state goovernment was focusing on expanding it at the grassroots. “We are now starting vaccination drives at panchayat levels to cover as many people as we can. On the other hand, plans are afoot to also increase the testing rate for early detection, tracking and curing cases,” he said.