As there is no significant improvement in Covid-19 scenarios in 10 coastal districts, the State Government on Thursday announced extension of the partial lockdown till August 1.
Schools, colleges, malls, cinema halls and places of worship would continue to remain closed.Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra said, “The test positivity rate (TPR) of Odisha, which was 5per cent on July 1, has now come down below 3per cent. The daily infection cases have come down to 2,000 from 3,000 reported earlier in this month. It means the situation has not fully improved.” So, the prevailing categorisation of districts (categories A &B) would continue and the partial lockdown would also continue across the State till August 1, he said. As many as 20 districts (category A) with low infection rate would enjoy more relaxations compared to the rest 10 districts (category B) in the graded unlocking from Friday.
The category A districts are Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Kalahandi, Balangir, Nuapada, Subarnapur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boudh, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri and Rayagada
Khordha, of which Bhubaneswar is a part, Cuttack, Puri, Baleswar, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Mayurbhanj and Nayagarh are in category B.While shops in the category A districts would remain open from 6 am to 8 pm, in the category B districts the shops would open from 6 am to 5 pm.Similarly, the weekend shutdowns would continue in category B districts while there would be no weekend shutdown in the remaining 10 districts. However, night curfew would be in force all across the State.
Bus (only with seating capacity), taxi and auto-rickshaw services would resume across the State from Friday. However, no bus services would be allowed to Puri till July 25 in view of the Rath Yatra. Moreover, there would no inter-State bus operations.
Gyms, parlors, spas and salons would reopen across the State from Friday in adherence to the Covid-19 protocols.
The restrictions on marriage ceremony and funeral would continue to remain in force while bars would remain closed. Restaurants would be allowed takeaways only and not eating in the premises.The ceiling on maximum attendance of 25 persons in weddings and 20 in funerals and last rites, curbs on community feast, socio-cultural and political gatherings would continue. The Government also allowed outdoor sports events without participation of spectators. Outdoor and indoor film shooting would also continue in the State.
All economical activities including agriculture, fisheries, construction, and industrial activities would continue without any restrictions
Weekly haats and daily markers would be allowed only in the 20 less-infected districts with strict adherence to the Covid protocols. However, the daily markets and weekly haats would remain closed in the other 10 coastal districts, the Chief Secretary added