[Watch] Follow COVID Norms To Prevent Another Lockdown, Cautions Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday appealed to the people to strictly follow the COVID-19 guidelines to prevent the situation from aggravating to call for lockdown.

The Chief Minister in a message thanked the people for their unstinting support and cooperation for which the COVID-19 situation in Odisha is much better compared to other states. But, they should not become complacent, he cautioned.

“Due to the strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, the daily positive cases in Odisha has come down to under 100. But it does not mean that we should be complacent as there is still a threat of the coronavirus staging a comeback,” he said.

Justifying his contention, the Chief Minister said states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have witnessed a sudden surge in positive cases as the people ignored the COVID-19 guidelines. As the situation worsened in Maharashtra, the state government again clamped lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus.

“The trauma during the lockdown period is still fresh in our memory. We are well aware of the repercussion of the COVID-19 that had dealt a severe blow to our economy, society and education. As we have managed to overcome the ordeal, we do not want to return to the lockdown period again and the only way to keep ourselves safe is to stick to the COVID norms like proper wearing of the mask, frequent hand washing, not touching our face, ears and eyes with bare hands and not moving outside unless there is urgent work,” the Chief Minister said.

Seeking the cooperation of the people for the success of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination, Naveen said they should not let the sacrifice of the COVID warriors, who laid down their lives to save them from the killer virus, go in vain. “It will be our tribute to them, if we remain cautious against the virus,” he observed.

Stating that he has asked the administration to strictly monitor the COVID-19 guidelines, he sought the cooperation of the people to make the state achieve the zero infection target.