To prevent community spread of COVID-19, Odisha’s Ganjam district administration on Sunday repealed all relaxations of Unlock-1 and ordered the strict imposition of complete lockdown in the district till June 30. The total weekend shutdown declared by the State government on Saturdays and Sundays will also be enforced in the district.
Ganjam is the worst COVID-19 affected district in Odisha. Till Sunday morning, it had recorded six COVID-19 deaths and 682 positive cases. District Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said there had been no community spread of COVID-19 in Ganjam till now.
The stricter lockdown restrictions will come into immediate effect in the district from Sunday and will continue till June 30. Shops selling essential commodities will be allowed to remain open from 7 a.m. to Noon, and not 7 p.m. as before. Other than people involved in providing essential services, no one will be allowed to move out of their homes from Noon till 7 a.m. the following day.
Livelihood-related work under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), agriculture and allied activities, and urban wage generation programmes will continue without restrictions. Private construction will be allowed with the provision of accommodation and food to workers.
Mr. Kulange said there would be no vehicular movement in the district in the coming fortnight, except in the case of vehicles transporting essential commodities and services. All buses, cars, taxis, auto rickshaws and bicycles will remain off the roads. No intra-district and inter-district passenger bus service will be permitted.
Returnees testing positive
Over 2 lakh migrant workers have returned to Ganjam district and will continue to return in the coming weeks. Most persons testing positive are returnees. “A majority of these returnees have come from Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and West Bengal [States] that have high incidence of coronavirus infections,” said Mr. Kulange.
So far, about 1 lakh returnees have completed mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine in Temporary Medical Centres and have proceeded to 14-day home quarantine. In the coming days, more people will undergo this process.
In the last two days, 14 frontline personnel and 10 others in Ganjam have tested positive after coming into contact with others who tested positive.
