Stores selling essentials will remain open from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily.
Bhubaneswar:
The Odisha government on Thursday announced a 14-day complete lockdown in four districts and a municipal coronavirus-laden company from the evening of July 17.
The districts of Ganjam, Khurda, Cuttack and Jajpur and the town of Rourkela will be locked from 9:00 p.m. Friday through July 31 amid a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.
Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said that aggressive surveillance will be conducted during the period in these areas to contain the spread of the disease.
The restrictions in the four districts were imposed after various surveys showed that they represented 66% of the total cases in the state, he said, adding that 90% of the cases in the Sundargarh district were detected at Rourkela.
“We are confident that we will be able to effectively contain the spread of the coronavirus if these measures are implemented during the fortnight,” said Tripathy.
Movement of people will be restricted and stores, commercial establishments, offices and institutions will remain closed during the period, he said.
Unnecessary movement of people to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack will be prohibited and no one will be allowed to enter these cities without valid reason, he added.
However, stores selling essentials will remain open from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. everyday, the secretary general said, calling on people not to panic.
Some central government establishments, including post offices, telecommunications, customs clearance at ports and airports will be exempt from restrictions, he said.
Likewise, RBI, financial markets, ATMs, payment system operators and stand-alone master distributors will be allowed to operate with minimal staff.
Operations at airports, train stations and bus stations will also be allowed.
Public transport and private vehicles to and from airports, the train station and bus terminals will be allowed to facilitate the movement of passengers arriving by plane, train and bus, said the secretary general.
Tripathy said that agriculture, horticulture, fishing, animal husbandry, veterinary services and related activities will be allowed during the period.
All industrial units and factories, as well as hotels and IT units will be allowed to operate with minimal staff.
Dhabas along national and national highways and main roads can only operate take-out, while petrol pumps, CNG stations and LPG, including their bottling, distribution and retail outlets , will also be allowed, he said.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
