Bhubaneswar: Partial lockdown in Odisha has been extended till 6 am on August 1.
Briefing the media on Thursday, Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra said that shops and commercial establishments in Category-A (20 districts) will remain open from 6 am till 8 pm on all seven days.
These districts are Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Kalahandi, Balangir, Nuapada, Sonepur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boudh, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Angul, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar.
Night curfew in these districts will be from 8 pm to 6 am.
In Category-B districts, shops and commercial establishments will remain open from 6 am till 5 pm. Weekend shutdown will continue in these 10 districts – Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj.
The night curfew in these districts will be from 5 pm to 6 am.
Weekly and daily markets will remain closed for the next two weeks in Category-B districts, he said.
The Chief Secretary further said buses will be allowed to ply in all districts of the state except Puri (till July 25). Taxi and auto-rickshaw can move across the state. “Buses will be allowed to pick up passengers up to seating capacity only. Taxis and autos can carry a maximum of two persons apart from the driver,” he said.
The cap on marriage and related functions will continue as usual. The organisers will not be allowed to serve food to their guests during these functions.
Schools and Colleges will remain closed till further orders, he said, adding that restrictions on parks, malls, movie theatres, exhibitions, jatra and melas will continue.
Bars to remain closed while restaurants will be allowed takeaways only.
The government has, however, allowed gym, spa and beauty parlours to open from Friday with strict adherence to COVID guidelines.
“Outdoor and indoor shootings for film and TV serials will also be allowed. Outdoor sports activities have also been allowed. Sports events can be conducted but without spectators,” he added.
The Chief Secretary said that the COVID situation is still not under control and Khurda, Cuttack, Puri and a few other districts in B-category have been reporting a high infection rate. “Khurda and Cuttack districts contribute to 40 per cent of the fresh cases in the state,” he said.
He also warned people against any laxity in COVID appropriate behaviour. “Those vaccinated should continue to wear masks. They develop mild symptoms on contracting the virus, but they can infect others,” he added.
