Bhubaneswar: Conveying Chief Minister’s instruction to ensure everyone wears mask, Chief Secretary SC Mahapatra Saturday told officials from Nuapada district to strictly enforce the mask rule.
As per the direction of the CM, Mahapatra along with additional chief secretary (ACS) Health, PK Mohapatra Saturday visited Chhattisgarh bordering Nuapada & Kalahandi districts and reviewed the COVID management works in the two districts.
Discussing with the district administration in Nuapada, the Chief Secretary said, “Be ruthless, don’t show any mercy after doing awareness on COVID norms.”
“There is no restriction on movement of vehicles and goods. The infection spreads through one person to another. Therefore, it important to adhere to the safety protocols of wearing masks and maintaining social distancing,” he said.
The fine for not wearing a mask has been doubled now. Rs 1,000 fine will be imposed for the first two violations and Rs 5,000 for subsequent offences, Mahapatra warned.
The Chief Minister has given a clear cut message that, “There will be no lockdown or shutdown if we wear mask. Therefore, it should be implemented in letter and spirit,” he added.
Both the senior officers later visited COVID hospital and looked into the treatment facility, availability of medicines, beds, ICUs and other facilities in the districts.
As the infection rate in Chhattisgarh has remained high in past few days, the district officials were asked to ensure RT-PCR test and 7-day home or institutional quarantine of all people coming from the neighbouring state.
The Chief Secretary further instructed to operationalise all COVID care centres in the districts and increase the daily testing rate. He further said that steps are being taken to identify people with symptoms, conduct tests and isolate the positive cases at the village level.
An ambulance with advanced life support system will be deployed in Kalahandi. The number of beds and ICU facility will be increased in the COVID hospital in the district, he said, adding that appointed specialized doctors will join the duty soon.
Night curfew is in force in these two districts since March 25. Till Saturday morning, Kalahandi and Nuapada had 538 and 445 active COVID-19 cases respectively.