Restaurants, Shops In Odisha To Remain Open Beyond 10 PM From Today

Bhubaneswar: Shops, restaurants in urban areas of Odisha will remain open beyond 10 pm from Friday with the state government deciding to lift the night curfew restrictions amid a steady decline in COVID cases.

“Night Curfew is withdrawn/ lifted from all urban areas of the State with effect from 18th February 2022, a notification issued by the office of Special Relief Commissioner said.

Night curfew was being imposed in urban areas from 10 pm to 5 am since February 1. The duration of this restriction was extended by an hour in January when Odisha saw a steep spike in cases with the third wave sweeping the state.

Notably, this came close on the heels of the Centre’s directive to the states to ease additional COVID curbs. On February 15, the Centre had written to state and union territories to review and amend/do away with any additional restrictions with India witnessing a drop in new cases and active caseload.

Odisha has been reporting less than 1000 new infections for the last four days and currently has 7,855 active cases.

This decision is being seen as a step towards minimizing the impact on lives and livelihoods. However, other restrictions as prescribed by the authorities for the month of February will remain in force, the notification added.