The Jharkhand government on Sunday decided not to offer any relief during the lockdown 3.0 set to start from Monday.

Under the Centre’s norms, only Ranchi is in the red zone (high rate of the novel coronavirus) among the 24 districts in the state. The rest are in orange (fewer cases) and green (Covid-19-free) zones.

The Centre, while stretching the lockdown till May 17, allowed certain relaxations in orange and green zones, such as four-wheelers with a driver and two passengers in orange zones and buses running at 50 per cent capacity to prevent crowding in green zones.

Hemant, who reviewed the pros and cons of the Centre’s guidelines, decided against the relaxations in Jharkhand. “Our labourers and students are coming from different states...for precaution the lockdown will continue in Jharkhand for the next two weeks,” he said on Sunday.

A senior bureaucrat said the lockdown in Jharkhand will be without relief irrespective of whether a district is in red, orange or green zone. “We can’t take any risk,” he said.

Health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni explained why the government was risk-averse. “Relief is possible if borders are sealed. At a time people are returning home in Jharkhand, our first concern is safety for the arrivals and those who were here.”

Red-zone Ranchi apart, districts Bokaro, Garhwa, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Simdega, Giridih, Koderma and Chatra are in the orange zone. East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Dumka, Godda, Gumla, Latehar, Lohardaga, Palamau and Sahebganj are in the green zone.

No fresh Covid-19 case

No new Covid-19 case surfaced between Saturday 9pm to Sunday 8pm in the state, said a health department bulletin. The number of Covid-19 cases stood at 115, including the three who died, and 27 who have since recovered from the infection.