Traders of the steel city have decided to keep their shops and business establishments shut on Tuesday amid rising Covid-19 cases and shortage of beds at hospitals in response to an appeal issued by the Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

"As it is an extraordinary situation of medical emergency, the traders' community also has a crucial role to play in the war against Covid. If the shops are kept closed completely on, then the chain of the deadly virus can be broken to a great extent, "said Suresh Sonthalia, former president of the Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

In response to Sonthalia's appeal, office-bearers of the Retail Merchant Welfare Association of Sakchi convened an emergency meeting and declared that all the 600 members will keep their shops closed.

"Despite repeated drives being carried out by the administration to follow protective measures against Covid, people tend to evade them like not wearing masks properly and evading social distancing, thus contributing to the spread of Covid. But if we all keep our shops closed at least for a day, then it will impact positively," said Somenath Tiwari, president of RMWA.

In the last 24 hours, 676 cases were reported, thus taking the total number of positive cases to 24,399.

During this period, 17 persons died at various hospitals in the city, taking the death toll to 447.

Test results arriving late due to a huge backlog at centres has added to the gravity of the situation.

"The report of the RT-PCR test is getting late because a huge backlog has piled up. The situation has been thus a large number of people turning up for the test having noticed some health-related complications, "said civil surgeon Dr A.K. Lal to The Telegraph Online.