14 days lockdown in 4 dists and Rourkela
Bhubaneswar: The state government on Thursday announced 14-day complete lockdown in four districts of Khurda, Cuttack, Ganjam and Jajpur, and in Rourkela city, from 9 pm on Friday till July 31. These four districts and Rourkela have a high case load. There will be no weekend shutdowns in these areas.
Announcing the decision, chief secretary Asit Tripathy said mobility of people would be restricted while offices, commercial establishments and institutions will remain closed (barring exceptions). People,, however, must not resort to panic buying of food as vegetable, grocery and milk shops will remain open from 6 am to 1 pm every day. “We appeal to people to buy the essentials from the neighbourhood,” he said.
Tripathy said entry of vehicles to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar from other parts of the state would not be allowed except in case of medical and other emergency. The enforcement agencies will implement the lockdown in letter and spirit, he added.
The officer said the four districts and Rourkela had two-thirds of the active positive cases in the state and were recording most of the new cases as well. These districts account for 9,259 of the 15,392 positive cases (60%) and 3,009 of the 4,412 active positive cases (68%).
“July is a significant month in the fight against Covid-19. Although the district administrations have been taking steps, more action is needed at the state level. The lockdown decision has been taken considering professional inputs. There will be aggressive surveillance, testing, contact tracing, isolation and treatment,” the chief secretary said.