The Odisha government on Wednesday announced partial lockdown till 5 a.m. on July 1 following marginal improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the State. The present lockdown comes to end on June 17.
However, night curfew and weekend shutdown will continue.
“Odisha government has announced four lockdowns, including the present one, to bring the pandemic situation under control. The rate of infection has come down significantly during the third lockdown. A fortnight ago, the test positivity rate (TPR), which was 14 to 15%, came down to 6%,” said Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra here.
Odisha had already crossed the peak period of the second wave and the infection rate was falling fast, Mr. Mohapatra said, adding that hundreds of positive cases, however, continued to emerge in some districts.
The government has divided 30 districts into two categories based on the prevailing TPR.
In 17 districts, mostly in southern and western region where the TPR has come down to 5% or below, all shops have been allowed to operate from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. These districts are Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Subarnapur, Kandhamal, Boudh, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kalahandi and Nuapada.
In these districts, all shops have been allowed to open. Hotels and restaurants can sell food through takeaway mode only.
In the remaining 13 districts in coastal and northern region, where the TPR continued to be around 10%, shops selling essential commodities would remain open from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. As per the present measures, people can walk down to purchase essential commodities between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. These districts are Khordha, Puri, Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Cuttack, Angul, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar. Malls have not been allowed to open across the State.
Border checkposts
The border checkposts along Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have been removed after a vast improvement in the two neighbouring States. Odisha, however, would continue to have checkposts along the borders of West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
During partial lockdown, passenger bus operations will remain suspended. Educational institutions will not open. Gatherings including social, political and sports have been prohibited.
Industrial, banking, agriculture, construction and goods transportation sectors would function normally like before. Keeping the milk farmers’ interest in mind, sweetmeat shops have been allowed to open. Walking and cycling have been allowed from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
