BARGARH: The administration on Thursday announced to impose a five-day shutdown at multiple places in the district to contain the spread of Covid-19.

The shutdown will be imposed in the entire Bargarh sub-division, Sohela and Bijepur of Padampur sub-division besides all the five urban local bodies (ULBs) including Bargarh Municipality, Attabira, Barpali, Bijepur and Padampur NACs. The shutdown from July 24 to 28 will be imposed in two phases.

In the Phase-I shutdown from July 24 to 26, intra-district public transport will be restricted while Government and private institutions, shops and business establishments will remain closed. No two-wheeler, except for the exempted categories will be allowed to ply during this period. However, essential services and movement of goods carriers, vehicles on highways, industrial and construction activities will be allowed.

Similarly, during the Phase-II shutdown on July 27 and 28, banks, insurance and financial institutions will be allowed to operate with not more than 25 per cent of their total manpower strength from 8 am to 2 am. Shops selling vegetables and grocery will be allowed to open from 6 am to 1 pm. Besides, e-commerce services will be allowed during this period.

Bargarh Collector Jyotiranjan Pradhan appealed to people to follow all the Government guidelines during the shutdown period.Meanwhile, 26 new Covid-19 cases were detected in the district on the day, taking the tally to 324 in Bargarh. Of the total positive cases, 210 have recovered and 113 are active. The district has also reported a death due to Covid-19.