Bhubaneswar: With the ongoing lockdown going to expire June 1 and there being no respite in sight from the mounting Covid-19 cases, speculations are rife that the period of lockdown may be extended further.
According to a source, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra will make an important announcement at 6:30 pm Sunday. It is expected that the announcement will most probably be regarding lockdown.
For some days till May 25, the day when cyclone ‘Yaas’ made its landfall in Odisha, the state had continuously been reporting over 10,000 cases. And it has been reporting below 10,000 daily cases since May 26, thanks to suspension of Covid testing in cyclone affected areas. Odisha Sunday registered 9,541 positive cases and 33 fatalities. With this, the tally and toll of the state have gone up to 7,56,684 and 2,719 respectively.
If there had been no cyclone, the state must have been reporting above 10,000 cases every day. This is the reason why people expect an extension of lockdown.
PNN
