Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to extend the ongoing Covid-induced lockdown in the state till the morning of June 17, Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra told the media, Sunday evening.
“The ongoing lockdown has yielded good results in containing coronavirus infection. As a result, Covid positivity rates have declined in many areas. However, the positivity rates are yet to drop below 10 per cent. The state government has, thus, decided to extend the lockdown till 5 am, June 17,” Mohapatra said.
He added that three districts of the state, which have reported a positive rate of below 10 per cent, would be allowed some relaxations. These districts include Nuapada, Sundargarh and Gajapati. Except for these three districts, the lockdown norms will remain the same for others. The Chief Secretary said that the 16-day lockdown would pave the way for reducing the infections and positivity rates. He urged the people to take the lockdown seriously and comply with the government orders.
Mohapatra said that shops dealing with essential supplies would remain open from 7am to 11am, while the weekend shutdowns on Saturdays and Sundays would continue as usual.
As some relaxation in curbs would be allowed the Nuapada, Gajapati and Sundargarh districts, shops there would remain open from 7am to 1pm every day. Shops, in addition to those providing essential items, would also be allowed to open in these districts. Mohapatra, however, said that the relaxations could be stopped if there is a rise in Covid cases in these districts during the period.
The government has also decided to continue with the restrictions on the number of guests at weddings and funerals as stipulated in the Covid guidelines released in May this year.
Meanwhile, the movement of emergency service providers has been eased in the state during the lockdown period. The local administrations have been asked to facilitate easy movement of people going for testing, vaccination and other medical emergencies.
