Odisha on Sunday announced a 14-day lockdown from May 5 till May 19 with the aim to contain the second wave of Covid-19 transmissions, happening at an alarming rate, with some districts in the state reporting test positivity rates of 50%. A test positive rate of 50% means that one out of every two persons tested for the disease is found infected.
Odisha chief secretary Suresh Mohapatra however clarified that the lockdown was primarily aimed at restricting people’s movement and the movement of goods and goods carriers will not be affected by it.
Mohapatra said the lockdown will have varying intensity with weekends witnessing a “complete shutdown” barring activities related to Covid vaccination, testing, healthcare and election-related works for by-polls in Pipili assembly constituency, scheduled for later this month.
During the lockdown on weekdays, residents will be allowed to buy vegetables between 6 am and 12pm from roadside vendors, who will have to maintain a distance of at least 30 feet from each other. Weekly markets will not be allowed to operate, however, school book shops will be allowed to open. Hotels, home stays, lodges and motels, housing tourists and other visitors stranded due to the lockdown will be allowed to operate, according to the government order.
Private security services and facilities management services for maintenance and upkeep of office and residential complexes will also be allowed to operate. Services provided by self-employed persons such as electricians, IT repairmen, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters have also been exempted from the lockdown apart from repair and service facilities for electrical and electronic appliances including fans, air coolers, water purifiers, air conditioners, mobile phones, computers and accessories.
{{/usCountry}}Private security services and facilities management services for maintenance and upkeep of office and residential complexes will also be allowed to operate. Services provided by self-employed persons such as electricians, IT repairmen, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters have also been exempted from the lockdown apart from repair and service facilities for electrical and electronic appliances including fans, air coolers, water purifiers, air conditioners, mobile phones, computers and accessories.
{{/usCountry}}The government also clarified that those eligible for Covid vaccination can go to vaccination sites during the lockdown.
Inter-state bus transport has been prohibited during the lockdown and shutdown phases, but inter-state air and rail transport will be allowed. Intra-state public transport such as buses and taxi aggregators like Ola/Uber will not be allowed to operate during the lockdown; however, passengers can hire private taxis from airports and railway stations after showing their travel documents.
Odisha recorded 8,015 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, down from 10,413 cases recorded on Saturday. So far 2,068 people have died due to the disease while the number of active cases in the state stands at 69,453.
Officials said lockdown was necessary to break the chain of transmission in districts like Sundargarh and Kalahandi, which recorded a test positivity rate (TPR) of 59 and 42+ on Sunday. Several other districts like Nuapara, Bargarh and Sambalpur too, registered a TPR of 30% and more.
Meanwhile, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday declared working journalists of the state as frontline Covid warriors. During the first and second waves of the disease, 27 print, electronic and web journalists have succumbed to the deadly infection. Close to 7,000 working journalists are likely to get vaccination on priority after the announcement. The state government also announced an ex-gratia compensation of ₹15 lakh each for the kin of the journalists who have succumbed to the disease.
Meanwhile, three policemen in Mayurbhanj district were injured while trying to disperse thousands of Santhal tribals in Udala area, where they were celebrating Magh Parav. Mayurbhanj SP Smith Parmar said around 2000 people had converged at Debanbahali village under Sarat police station to celebrate the Magh Parav when assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Biswajit Das Mohapatra, a constable and a home guard asked them to stop the celebrations in view of the restrictions on mass gatherings, put in place to prevent the spread of the disease.
“The people present there did not listen and instead attacked the policemen and vandalised the police vehicle,” said the SP. He added that the ASI received critical injuries in the attack and was currently under treatment at medical college and hospital in Baripada. “We will arrest all those who assaulted the policemen,” said the SP.