Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has declared 48-hour shutdown in Bhubaneswar and Bhadrak town, which have reported COVID-19 cases, from 8 pm on Friday.
Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy said efforts were made to contain the spread of the virus and with the cooperation of the public, the government could achieved the internal target to limit the positive cases to single digit till March 31.
He said that 80 per cent of the positive cases, which is four of the total five, have been reported from Bhubaneswar and one from Bhadrak town. “The previous four cases had foreign travel history and but the latest one reported from Surya Nagar in Bhubaneswar had become a cause of concern since the 60-year-old had not travelled outside Odisha,” he said.
To know how this transmission took place, the entire Surya Nagar area has been declared as ‘containment zone’. “Special teams are visiting every house in the locality to track the source,” he said.
Stating that this week is crucial, the chief secretary said that surveillance and tracking measures will be intensified both in Bhubaneswar and Bhadrak.
“The lockdown as per MHA order has several exception and disturbs the surveillance process. Therefore, the government has decided to go for 48-hour complete shutdown at these two places,” he said.
The lockdown passes will not be valid during these 48-hours.
“Since there is fear of community transmission, we have to take the surveillance to the next level and take up scientific tracking and tracing as per the WHO guidelines to ensure safety of all,” he said, seeking cooperation from the people.
The earlier MHA order on restrictions has been revoked and new shutdown regulations are being implemented by OSDMA. Anyone found violating curfew rules will be picked up from their houses and put in quarantine facility of the government for 14 days, he said
Action will be taken under the penal provisions of the Disaster Management Act, he added.
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