Bhubaneswar: As Odisha is all set to move into the third phase of lockdown from tomorrow, the State government today classified areas under the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) as Red Zone and issued a fresh set of guidelines for the extended lockdown period till May 17.
In a letter to all the district collectors, magistrates and municipal commissioners, Additional Chief Secretary PK Mohapatra has detailed out categorisation of districts for the week starting from May 4.
While the areas under BMC have been placed under Red Zone category, the remaining areas of Khurda district have been classified as Orange Zone. Similarly, Bhadrak, Balasore and Jajpur districts which witnessed a surge in the coronavirus cases have been categorised as Red Zones.
The districts which have been classified as Orange Zone are Sundergarh, Kendrapara, Koraput, Keonjhar, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Bolangir, Dhenkanal, Kalahandi and Ganjam.
Moreover, Angul, Bargarh, Boudh, Sambalpur, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sonepur, Cuttack and Puri are placed under Green Zone.
If any district in Green Zone reports any COVID-19 case in the future, it will be treated as Orange Zone, the government order said.
Similarly, the State government has come up with a fresh set of guidelines for strict enforcement of the rules during the extended lockdown till May 17.
The new guidelines to be effective from May 4 till the midnight of May 17 will be applicable based on the risk profiling of the districts into Red (Hotspot), Orange and Green zones.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will share the list of Red Zone (Hotspot), Orange Zone and Green Zone districts and related information with the State on a weekly basis or earlier. Besides, the Odisha Health Department may include additional districts as Red Zone (Hotspots) and Orange Zone districts depending on the extent of spread of COVID-19 infection.
The following activities will be prohibited irrespective of the Zone during the lockdown period:-
- All domestic and international air travel of passengers, except for medical services, air ambulance and for security purposes or for purposes as permitted by MHA
- All passenger movement by trains, except for security purposes or for purposes as permitted by MHA.
- Inter-State Buses for public transport, except as permitted by MHA.
- Inter-State movement of individuals except for medical reasons or for activities as permitted by MHA.
- All schools, colleges, educational/ training/ coaching institutions, etc. However, online/ distance learning shall be permitted.
- Hospitality services other than those used for housing health/ police/ Government officials/ healthcare workers, stranded persons including tourists, and those used for quarantine facilities.
- All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.
- All social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions/ other gatherings.
- All religious places/ places of worship shall be closed for public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited.
RED ZONES (Hotspots) [Outside Containment Zones]
Activities not permitted:
- All malls, market complexes and markets in urban areas, i.e., areas within the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities
- Cycle rickshaws and auto-rickshaws.
- Taxis and cab aggregators except those specified under Para 6 (ii)(a).
- Intra-district and inter-district plying of buses.
- Barber shops, spas and salons.
Activities permitted with restrictions as specified:
- Movement of individuals and vehicles, only for permitted activities. Four wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the vehicle driver. For two-wheelers, pillion rider is not allowed. Transport aggregators like OLA, UBER permitted by Commerce & Transport (Transport) Department for transportation of medical personnel/ patients to and from hospitals.
- Industrial establishments in urban areas: Only Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Oriented Units (EOUs), industrial estates and industrial townships with access control; Manufacturing units of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates; Production units, which require continuous process, and their supply chain; Manufacturing of IT hardware; Jute industry with staggered shifts and social distancing; and, Manufacturing units of packaging material are permitted.
- All industrial activities are permitted in rural areas
- Construction activities in urban areas: Only in-situ construction (where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside the urban limits) and construction of renewable energy projects are permitted.
- All construction activities are permitted in rural areas.
- Malls, Market Complexes, Markets and Shops:
(i) Shops selling essential goods in markets and market complexes are permitted.
(ii) All standalone (single) shops, neighbourhood (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential.
(iii) All shops in rural areas, except in malls, are permitted to remain open, without any distinction of essential and nonessential. Social distancing (6 feet distance) will be maintained in all cases.
- E-commerce activities will be permitted only in respect of essential goods.
- Private offices can operate with up to 33% strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home.
- All Central Government offices shall function with officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above to the extent of 100% strength. The remaining staff will attend up to 33% as per requirement.
- Defence and Security services, Health and Family Welfare, Police, Prisons, Home Guards, Civil Defence, Fire and Emergency Services, Disaster Management and related services, NIC, Customs, FCI, NCC, NYK and Municipal services shall function without any restrictions; however, delivery of public services shall be ensured and necessary staff will be deployed for such purpose.
ORANGE ZONES [Outside Containment Zones]
Activities not permitted:
Inter-district and Intra-district plying of buses.
Activities permitted:
- Taxis and cab aggregators, with 1 driver and 2 passengers only.
- Inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles, only for permitted activities. Four wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the driver.
- All other activities without any restriction.
GREEN ZONES
Activities not permitted:
- Inter-district and Intra-district bus movement
Activities permitted:
- All other activities without any restriction.
- Activities permitted, irrespective of the Zone: Inter-state movement of goods/ cargo, including empty goods carriers.
- All other activities, which are not specifically prohibited/ permitted with restrictions in the various Zones under these guidelines, will be permitted activities.
The movement of individuals, for all non-essential activities, will remain strictly prohibited between 7 pm to 7 am. Collector and District Magistrate/ Commissioner of Police/ Municipal Commissioner shall issue orders under appropriate provisions of law, such as prohibitory orders [curfew] under Section 144 of Cr.PC, for this purpose, and ensure strict compliance.
In all zones, persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, shall stay at home, except for meeting essential requirements and for health purposes, as per the National Directives.
In Containment Zones, Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) and Medical clinics shall not be permitted to operate. However, these are permitted to operate in Red, Orange and Green Zones, with social distancing norms and other safety precautions.