48-Hour Weekend Shutdown To Contain COVID-19 Spread Begins In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A thick blanket of security cover is in place in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar in view of the 48-hour weekend shutdown which began in 11 districts of Odisha today.

Odisha government has ordered a complete shutdown of non-essential services to contain and flatten the COVID-19 curve which saw a sharp rise following the massive influx of migrants from several other states.

The weekend shutdown, on Saturdays and Sundays, will be clamped in 11 districts- Ganjam, Puri, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore for the entire month of June.

Earlier, CM Naveen Patnaik in a video message had also appealed people not to step out of homes uncessarily and follow the social distancing norms along with other government guidelines to stay protected from COVID-19.

All the essential services including healthcare services, drinking water and electricity supply, RBI, other clearing houses and ATM counters will remain open during the weekend shutdown in 11 districts. Airport, railway stations and bus terminals will also function as usual.

There will be no restriction on movement of people associated with these organisations.

Home delivery of food by restaurants and aggregators like Zomato and Swiggy, LPG distribution and newspaper hawkers (5am to 8am) have also been exempted.
However, people engaged in such services will have to carry their identity cards as well as vehicle passes. Taxis, auto-rickshaws and others in emergency services can use the passes issued by the police department.

The police will also issue passes for marriages and funerals. In case of any other emergency situation, people are advised to dial helpline number 100 for passes, informed Commissionerate Police.

Also Read: Covid-19: Heads roll after whiff of ‘scam’ in Odisha govt’s Testing Kit, Mask, PPE procurement

(Edited By Pradeep Singh)