The Odisha government has extended all regulations in force for COVID-19 from March 31 to April 15, while offering an incentive of ₹15000 to each person registering with the State on coming from abroad.
Odisha, the first State in the country to undertake this unique initiative, came up with online portal https://covid19.odisha.gov.in and toll free number 104 urging people to register. These foreign returnees will have to mandatorily give a disclosure about their health status and travel history within 24 hours of arrival.
Also read |Tamil Nadu govt orders all educational institutions, malls, theatres shut till March 31
Stating that arrival from foreign countries was a major source of infection, the government said the incentive was meant for undergoing home quarantine. The 48-hour window for those who entered Odisha on or after March 4 began from Tuesday morning.
According the government, this will help the State in tracking persons who are already in the State, sensitise them about home isolation and keep a watch on their health for effective monitoring of the situation and medical advice.
The government also threatened legal action against foreign returnees found concealing their health status and travel history soon after the first coronavirus positive case was detected in State.
“We have received information that foreign universities have been shut down. Students and professionals are returning home. The crisis is going to only multiply,” said Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy.
COVID-19 | Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India
“The registration is mandatory for the sake of public health safety. There is no choice. We will enforce quarantine on those who are already in the State. If anyone violates the direction, relevant portions of CrPC and IPC will be taken recourse to,” Mr. Tripathy warned.
On Sunday night, a student who came from Italy tested positive for coronavirus. Through contact tracing, it was found that the student had come in contact with 53 persons including his family members and a private doctor and 76 co-passengers in the train he had travelled, said Subroto Bagchi, the State’s chief spokesperson on COVID-19.
On Tuesday, a fresh round of assessment was done in a locality of Bhubaneswar, where the student was staying.
The State Election Commission has already postponed panchayat byelections to be held in 20 districts for two Zilla Parishad members, six sarpanch and 84 war-members’ posts scheduled to be held on March 24. The government has also imposed Section 144 under CrPC in several districts to stop mass gathering for religious and cultural events.
