The Jharkhand government had beenreceiving thousands of distress calls from panic-stricken people stranded in other parts of the country and was making all efforts to assist them, an official here said on Friday.A team, headed by state Resident Commissioner M R Meena, is monitoring the situation in other states from New Delhi and extending help to those in need, he said."Continuous assistance is being provided to people stranded outside the state, in accordance with the guidelines of the Union government. The Jharkhand Bhavan is receiving thousands of calls on help-line numbers08826652716 and 01126739000," the official said.Taking to Twitter, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said everyone should join hands to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, as the disease does not discriminate people on grounds of caste, religion and wealth."We are together in this fight. Maintain distance from one another and remain connected through hearts" he tweeted.Soren also asked district officials to ensure that no one goes hungry in the state, after a human rights organisation, in a tweet, said people in Chadkapathar area of Dumka district were feeding on leaves to survive."No person of Jharkhand, including Dumka, (should) live in hunger, ensure proper functioning of 'Daal-Bhat' centres," Soren posted on his Twitter handle, while asking the district's deputy commissioner, Rajeshwari B, to take necessary measures.Two persons, including a 22-year-old Malaysian woman, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Jharkhand so far.Meanwhile, a health department official said 85,000 three-layer masks, 15,000 N-95 masks, 4,986 personal protective equipment, 100 thermal scanners and 7,000 bottles of sanitisers have arrived in the state from Delhi in an Air India cargo aircraft.This is in addition to the 1200 testing kits and 25,000 N-95 masks received on March 30, he added.
