Odisha govt extends lockdown till 1 June to check Covid surge. What's allowed, what's not

Odisha govt extends lockdown till 1 June to check Covid surge (AP)Premium
Odisha govt extends lockdown till 1 June to check Covid surge (AP)
 2 min read . Updated: 18 May 2021, 06:46 PM IST Staff Writer

The Odisha Government on Tuesday announced to extend the COVID-triggered lockdown in the state for two more weeks to tackle the further spread of the deadly virus. The government said in a directive, there shall be lockdown throughout the state from May 19th till 5 am of June 1st.

Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra announced this a day before the completion of the tenure of the first phase of lockdown at 5 am on May 19. He said that the complete weekend shutdown on Saturdays and Sundays, when only hospitals and medical outlets are allowed to operate, will also continue as earlier.

MORE FROM THIS SECTIONSee All

The weekend shutdown will remain in force between 6 pm of Fridays till 5 am of Mondays.

Mohapatra said that some stricter measures will be taken in the second phase of the lockdown. During the first phase, people got six hours from 6 am daily to purchase essential items, but now the window was reduced to five hours.

Here's is what is allowed and what is not during the lockdown

  1. People can buy the essentials between 6 am and 11 am by walking to the nearby markets.
  2. Inter-state and intra-state bus service will remain suspended till June 1.
  3. The government has also decided to further reduce the number of attendees in wedding ceremonies from 50 to 25, including the bride, the groom and priests. The ceiling for the number of participants in thread ceremony/ funerals/ last rites has been limited to 20.
  4. As per today's order all health services to remain functional during the lockdown. This includes hospitals, nursing home, pharmacy, collection centres, manufacturing unit of drugs etc. Movement of all medical personnel will also be allowed. Smooth movement of oxygen tankers, oxygen cylinder/COVID emergency material carrying vehicles needs to be ensured
  5. The financial sector will remain functional. RBI, RBI-regulated financial markets, Sebi and capital and debt market services, IRDAI and insurance companies will remain open. Banks, ATMs, etc. will remain functional
  6. Railways, Airport and sea ports will remain operational as per Centre's guidelines. Oil and Gas sector, postal services, sanitation and waste management sector etc will be operational.
  7. Shops dealing with emergency and essential article will remain functional 7 am to 11 am. Home delivery services will be encouraged. Weekly haats remain prohibited.

  9. IT and IT-enabled services to work with 20% staff.

Odisha's COVID-19 caseload surged to 6,33,302 on Tuesday after 10,321 more people tested positive for the infection, while 22 fresh fatalities pushed the toll to 2,357, a health department official said.

Accordingly, the number of active cases climbed to 1,04,539, he said. Of the 10,321 new cases, 5,779 were reported from various quarantine centres and the rest detected during contact tracing, the official said.

Khurda district, of which state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the maximum number of new cases at 1,566, followed by Sundergarh at 819 and Cuttack at 731.

(With inputs from agencies)

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters
* Enter a valid email
* Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

Close