Bhubaneswar: Odisha Health and Family Welfare Department Minister Naba Kishore Das Thursday said that it has been made mandatory for people coming to Odisha from other states to produce RT-PCR negative test reports.
Those arriving without test reports will have to undergo a seven-day quarantine, Das said.
At a time when speculations are rife that lockdown will be enforced at any moment, the minister informed that no decision has been taken as yet regarding imposition of lockdown restrictions.
Informing about the current COVID-19 situation, Das said that all the district authorities have been asked to remain prepared and ensure dedicated COVID care centres are in a state of readiness. At the same time, he urged the people not to take the pandemic lightly and follow COVID protocols in letter and spirit.
When asked regarding the shortage of vaccine, he said he had written a letter to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Wednesday, asking him to supply 25 lakh doses or ten days’ stock of Covishield vaccine to Odisha.
Informing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold talks with Chief Ministers to discuss present COVID-19 situation, he said he was hopeful that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will take up the vaccine shortage issue and demand more vaccines for the state.
“If vaccines do not reach by Thursday evening, the vaccination will come to a halt from Saturday,” he further informed.
