BREAKING: Nagaland extends Lockdown till July 15

Guwahati: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today informed that the state government has decided to extend the existing lockdown in the state till July 15 next. This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting that was held in the capital city Kohima.

Nagaland Chief Secretary Temjen Toy, in a notification, said: "the existing guidelines with regard to lockdown in all parts of the state issued vide order of even number dated 4/5/2020 subject to relaxations missed vide order of even number dated 10th June 2020 regarding the opening of religious places of worship for public and order of even number dated 20th June regarding plying of local taxis and auto-rickshaws in the border sub-divisions, shall continue to remain operative in Nagaland till July 15, 2020."

Tensions have remained high in Nagaland since the detection of the first cases of COVID-19 despite the most stringent measures during the lockdown period. Although Nagaland's Government had taken every possible precaution, the influx of the returning citizens who were stranded amid the lockdown caused the cases to rise dramatically. With the detection of 17 fresh positive cases of COVID-19 earlier today in the Tuensang district in Eastern Nagaland, the number of cases has risen to 451, out of which 283 cases are active.

Yesterday, another Northeastern state, Manipur, had extended the lockdown till July 15. Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who recently escaped unscathed after a coup attempt by a Congress and National People's Party (NPP) alliance, said that the Government has decided to open the inter-state bus services with restrictions and relaxations, following the standard operating procedure (SOP). Other modes of public transport, however, will not be allowed.

In Assam, yet another lockdown has been clamped in Guwahati city till June 12. The health authorities have taken this bold step due to a consistent uptick in the number of COVID cases in the Assam capital.

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