Night curfew in Bihar from April 29, shops to shut by 4 pm - Details inside

The Bihar government on Wednesday announced a new set of guidelines amid surging coronavirus cases. According to the latest guidelines, all shops in the state have been asked to close at 4 pm.

The decision was taken at the meeting of the crisis management group chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the day.

The night curfew will start from 6 pm till 6 am and the fresh curbs will come into force from April 29 till May 15. Presently, the curfew timings are from 9 pm till 5 am.

The government has also ordered the closure of shops/commercial establishments by 4 pm daily. Presently, the timing for shops/commercial establishments functioning was till 6 pm.

Essential services have been exempted from the curbs.

According to the guidelines, only 50 people have been allowed in a wedding ceremony whereas only 20 people will be allowed to assemble for the last rites of individuals.

Further, wedding ceremonies will have to conclude at 10 pm and no DJs will be allowed during these celebrations.

Government and other offices will function only with 25 percent attendance till 4 pm.

Total 12,604 more COVID cases were reported in Bihar Tuesday increasing the virus caseload to 4,28,001, with capital Patna being worst-hit in the state, health department bulletin said.

The state saw 85 fresh casualties, taking the death toll to 2307, it said.

Among the new cases, Patna's share was maximum 1837, while Bhagalpur reported 654 cases, Aurangabad (622) and Begusarai (611) infections.