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‘Be prepared for lockdown if Covid protocols not followed’: Odisha CM
Patnaik ordered a further increase in the number of beds at Covid hospitals and Covid Care Centres across the state.
As neighbouring Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh went into lockdown due to a massive surge in Covid-19 cases, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, during a review meeting of Odisha’s Covid preparedness on Tuesday, warned of a possible lockdown if people do not follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks and maintaining social distance.
“The cases in Odisha also have been increasing in the last few days. Due to our alert preparedness and proactive measures, we have been able to manage the situation to a large extent. However, we need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario and ensure that every patient is treated with dignity and put in best efforts to save precious lives,” the chief minister said.
“I once again request the people of Odisha to please cooperate. It is in the interest of the state and its people that we should manage the covid situation without lockdown. Wearing a mask and maintaining social distance will help us in this,” Patnaik said.
The chief minister’s appeal comes a day after the state government announced weekend lockdowns in all urban areas beginning April 24 as the state reported 4,761 fresh Covid cases, its highest single-day surge.
“With lockdowns in seriously affected states, the district collectors should be prepared for the return of the migrants. The protocols followed earlier should be reactivated by the collectors immediately based on the existing database,” he said, adding that quarantine norm and testing should be ensured for all returnees from other states.
Patnaik ordered a further increase in the number of beds at Covid hospitals and Covid Care Centres across the state and said special focus should be on providing the maximum possible number of beds with oxygen support. “The system has to work on war-footing to ensure this within committed timelines. Our oxygen supply situation has to be closely monitored and ensure that all related accessories at the hospital level are available on priority. Many states are facing critical medicines shortage. Even though we have sufficient medicines in stock, we must ensure buffer stock to tackle higher demand in the coming weeks,” he said.
With the R0 value (which indicates how contagious an infectious disease is) reaching 2.38 and the daily positivity rate rising to 14.71 on Tuesday, experts said the state would see a daily surge much higher than the one in the first wave. “I see Odisha peaking in another 2-3 weeks with the daily surge reaching 8,000-9,000 case a day. It would be more, but Odisha is not conducting more RT-PCR tests which would have detected the actual number of infected persons,” said noted microbiologist Dr TM Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Cuttack Municipal Corporation have decided to shut all religious institutions in the two cities for devotees until further orders.
On Tuesday morning, several Class 10 students protested before the official residence of the chief minister seeking cancellation of the Class 10 board exam which would be conducted by the Odisha Board of Secondary Education. Last week, the Odisha government postponed all the examinations, including the Class 10 and Class 12 examinations, till June in view of the surge in the Covid-19 cases in the state.
“As board exams in several states including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and CBSE, CISCE, we want the Odisha government to cancel the matriculation exam. We are under a lot of pressure as we do not know whether we should study for the Class 10 board exam or prepare for higher studies,” said a student.
“The Covid-19 situation has aggravated in the state and the new strain is also affecting children and youngsters. We are not feeling safe to appear in the board exam.”
Later, school and mass education minister Samir Dash said his department is reviewing all aspects and all options are open.
