COVID-19 Resurgence: Why Night Curfew In Only 10 Districts Of Odisha?

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to impose night curfew in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri districts from April 5 till further orders.

Eight of these districts – Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri – share borders with Chhattisgarh, which has turned into an epicentre of COVID-19 resurgence.

Also Read: Night Curfew To Be Imposed In 10 Odisha Districts From April 5, Know The Exemptions

With the daily COVID-19 caseload in Chhattisgarh crossing 4000, these bordering districts of Odisha have been already placed under maximum alert.

Some of these districts, Sundargarh, Nuapada, Kalahandi and Bargarh in particular, have witnessed a surge in new cases in the past two weeks. The highest number of 332 active cases are in Nuapada, followed by Sundargarh (307), Kalahandi (243), Bargarh (220) and Jharsuguda (77).

Health officials had attributed the rise in new cases in Nuapada, Bargarh, Sundargarh and Kalahandi districts to the inter-state movement of people between these districts and Chhattisgarh.

The state government was also mulling to suspend bus services between Nuapada and Chhattisgarh.

Also Read: Spectre Of Ch’garh COVID-19 Resurgence Looms Over Nuapada & Kalahandi

The government, however, has excluded Khurda from the list despite a spurt in cases in the district. Khurda has the highest of 473 active cases in the state. The COVID-19 surge in Khurda and the neighbouring Cuttack has been attributed to cluster outbreaks in educational institutions.