In the wake of the rising number of COVID-19 positive cases in Odisha, the State government has imposed a 14-day complete lockdown beginning Friday evening in four districts and a municipal corporation with high coronavirus load.
The lockdown will be in force in Ganjam, Jajpur, Cuttack and Khordha districts and Rourkela Municipal Corporation (Sundargarh district) from 9 pm on Friday to midnight of July 31.
“Imposition of lockdown is intended to restrict people’s movement. Commercial establishments, offices and educational institutes will remain closed. There will, however, be no curbs on essential services,” Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy told a press conference on Thursday evening.
The government has prohibited the entry of people from other districts to these five hotspot districts.
“Our utmost priority will be to identify symptomatic patients, test and isolate them during the lockdown period. I urge panchayati raj institution representatives and community leaders to take the responsibility of carrying local vigilance,” Mr. Tripathy said
Mr. Tripathy exhorted people not to resort to panic buying, as shops for essential supplies such as grocery, vegetables and milk would remain open during the first half of the day.
The State’s total confirmed cases crossed the 15000-mark following the addition of 494 positive cases on Thursday. COVID-19 positive cases in past fortnight had doubled from 7316 on July 1 to 15392 on July 16. During same period, Ganjam’s total cases tripled from 1583 to 4867.
