Bhubaneswar: The extended lockdown has begun in Odisha from Tuesday, with Nuapada, Gajapati and Sundargarh districts enjoying some relaxations. The lockdown has been extended till 5:00 am June 17.
Like in the previous lockdown, the shops dealing with essential commodities like grocery items were seen opened from 7:00 am till 11:00 am. These shops are allowed to do business for four hours daily till expiry of lockdown. Besides, the weekend shutdowns are continuing as usual.
At the same time, barring saloons, parlours and malls, all the other shops in Nuapada, Gajapati and Sundargarh districts were seen doing business from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. The lockdown restrictions have been relaxed in the three districts for the positivity rate remaining below three per cent there.
While announcing the extension of lockdown Sunday evening, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra had informed, “The ongoing lockdown has yielded good results in containing coronavirus infection. As a result, Covid positivity rates have declined in many areas. However, the positivity rates are yet to drop below 10 per cent. The state government has, thus, decided to extend the lockdown till 5 am, June 17.”
The restrictions on the number of guests at weddings and funerals as stipulated in the Covid guidelines released in May this year will remain effective during the ongoing lockdown.
Odisha has been reporting below 10, 000 new cases since May 27. While the new cases stood at 11,623 May 26, the total number of cases reported May 27 was 6,736. The state reported Tuesday 8,735 new Covid-19 cases.
PNN