COVID-19 Fight: Odisha First State To Extend Lockdown

Bhubaneswar: While rest of India thinks, Odisha acts and fast. To contain the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the Odisha government on Thursday extended the lockdown across the state till April 30.

The quick action came even as the Centre is still speculating on extending the countrywide lockdown.

Notably, Odisha was the first state to announce a lockdown of eight towns and five districts including Cuttack and Bhubaneswar on March 21 in order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The announcement had come a day ahead of the Janata Curfew on March 22 and the countrywide lockdown announced by the Centre from March 24 midnight.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “The State Cabinet, which met today, decided that saving the lives of our people is the top most priority at this juncture. Accordingly we have decided to extend the lock down till April 30.”

“We will recommend to Government of India to extend the national lockdown up to April 30. In addition to this, we will also request the Union Government not to start airline and railway services till April 30,” he added in a video message.