Odisha became the first state in the country to extend the lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic till April 30 as the number of patients infected by the novel coronavirus continues to rise across the country.
However, schools and other educational institutions(in Odisha) will remain closed till June 17, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced after a video conference with his ministers.
In a statement after the meeting, Patnaik said Odisha has also urged the Centre to stop train and flight services to the state till April 30.
“We have decided to extend the lockdown period till April 30 and a recommendation in this regard will be sent to the Centre,” Chief-Minister(of Odisha) said in a video message.
Odisha has recorded 44 positive cases of coronavirus so far.
On April 3, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation announced it is creating a “containment zone”, a nearly rectangular area with 1.5 km length and 800-metre width that centred on a housing complex, the epicentre of the local outbreak with 18 positive cases of coronavirus disease. On Twitter, the city’s municipal body released a map showing a black dotted line along the busy Cuttack-Puri road indicating the contours of the zone which it said no one can enter or exit as long as the containment orders were on.
With Odisha reporting its first death due to COVID-19 on Tuesday when a 72-year-old retired government servant died in AIIMS Bhubaneswar, the authorities have stepped up surveillance and testing. After Surya Nagar and Bomikhal, the officials added Jadupur, Kapilaprasad, Sundarpada and finally Satya Nagar as continent zones.
Ten villages in Kendrapara district, a gram panchayat in Bhadrak district and a village in Jajpur district have also been declared as containment zones.
The nationwide lockdown was declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 to break the chain of coronavirus transmission and it was scheduled to be lifted on April 15.
The number of people infected with COVID-19, caused by a novel coronavirus, rose to 5,734 on Thursday, government data showed. A novel virus is one that has not been previously identified in humans. PM Modi, in a video meeting with leaders of all parties, has suggested that the lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus will be extended and restrictions will not be lifted in one go after April 14.
