Odisha Lockdown Extended Till June 1

Bhubaneswar: Taking note of the alarming rise in COVID-19 situation, the Odisha government on Tuesday extended the lockdown across the state till 5 am of June 1.

Briefing the media here, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said that as per the guidelines issued by the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), the following activities shall continue to remain prohibited throughout the state:

—All domestic and international air travel of passengers, except for domestic medical services, domestic air ambulance and for security purposes or purposes as permitted by MHA.

—Schools, colleges, educational/ training/ coaching institutions etc. will remain closed. Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged.

—Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services except those meant for housing health/police/ government officials/healthcare workers/stranded persons including tourists and for quarantine facilities; and running of canteens at bus depots, railway stations and airports. Restaurants shall be permitted to operate kitchens for home delivery of food items.

—All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.

—Sports complexes, stadia and other facilities will be permitted to open. Sports activities are allowed for sportspersons and players. However, spectators will not be allowed.

—All social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/cultural/religious functions/other gatherings and large congregations.

—All religious places/places of worship shall be closed for the public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited.

Activities permitted with restrictions except in the containment zones

—Inter-state movement of passenger vehicles and buses, with mutual consent of the State(s)/UT(s) involved.

—Intra-state movement of two-wheelers, private vehicles, official vehicles, taxis (including cabs by aggregators like Ola, Uber etc.).

—Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for movement of persons shall continue as before while national directive for COVID-19 Management shall be followed throughout the state.