BHOJPUR: Authorities have decided to extend the lockdown for another one week in Bhojpur district as the cases of coronavirus infection have surged in the region. According to Bhojpur's Chief District Officer (CDO) Basanta Raj Puri, the meeting of District Risk Management Centre decided to extend the lockdown till September 16 (end of Bhadra in BS calendar) to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus as the new cases of the infection has been increasing in the district. Except for shops supplying essential commodities, all the businesses including hotels, restaurants, mass gatherings, seminars, sports gatherings and congregations in religious places, political party gatherings and educational institutions will remain shut during the lockdown in the district. The Local Administration has vowed to take action against anyone violating the lockdown as per the Communicable Disease Act 2020. The meeting also decided to arrange for the PCR test of people identified via contact tracing of those who have been diagnosed with the infection. Moreover, it has also been decided to place the infected patients at the Deurali-based isolation facility in Bhojpur Municipality-6 under the protection of Bhojpur District Police Office. The local levels concerned will have to arrange the food items and other services for the patients from poor families. On Wednesday, two females and three males tested positive for COVID-19 in Shadananda Municipality in the northern part of the district while the reports of six others are awaited. It has been reported that 17 persons have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the district, as of today, while 12 patients have already been discharged from health institutes following recoveries.