The Bihar government Monday extended the lockdown in its state till September 6 in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation, According to a notification issued by the Home Department restrictions will remain in place in the district headquarters, sub-divisional headquarters, block headquarters and all municipal areas. With 941 casualties in the past 24 hours, the toll in India topped 50,000 (50,921) on Monday. As many as 57,982 new cases were reported in the country, taking the tally to 26,47,664. Of the 26 lakh cases, at least 19 lakh have recovered, while over 6.7 lakh are still active. India has been reporting over 60,000 cases daily since August 7, barring August 11 when the country registered 53,601 new instances of the infection. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delayed the general election by four weeks until Oct. 17 as the nation’s first community outbreak of Covid-19 in more than three months worsens. A fresh outbreak of the virus in Auckland has seen the largest city locked down since Aug. 12 with people urged to stay home and consumer-facing businesses shut — denting consumer confidence while making political campaigning and fund-raising impossible.
