The Odisha government on Tuesday withdrew weekend shutdowns from all places in the state in view of the declining rate of coronavirus infection in the state.
Weekend shutdowns were in force in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri. Badly hit by the lockdown, people from various walks of life, especially traders, had been demanding an end to weekend showdowns. Business activities had been, in particular, hit by these restrictions.
Announcing the guidelines for September, special relief commissioner P.K. Jena said: “ There will be no weekend shutdown in the entire state. However, curfew will remain in force in the urban areas from 10pm to 5am. All the emergency services are allowed during the curfew period.” Earlier the curfew was enforced from 8pm to 5am.
With this the state government has given a clear go ahead to the business communities to resume their activities in a normal way.
All types of shops, including malls, are allowed to open from 5am to 10pm. Cinema halls can run with full capacity adhering to the Covid-19 norms. However, it will be the responsibility of the owners of the shops and market associations to ensure Covid-19 appropriate behaviour followed by the staff and the customers.
The state government has also increased the limit on the number of guests in the marriage, funeral and other social functions.
The Odisha government has also extended the ceiling on the number of participants in weddings, thread ceremony and funerals from 50 to 250.
However, all social, religious, political and cultural gatherings are prohibited. “Exhibitions, trade fairs and melas shall remain prohibited,” according to the guidelines.
Auditoriums, assembly halls and similar facilities shall remain only open for official meetings as per the seating capacity adhering to the Covid-19 safety protocols.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the state on Tuesday reached 10,07,750 with a new 638 number of cases surfaced and the death toll reached to 7,969 with 68 number of Covid deaths in the last 24 hours.
The state has 7, 255 active cases.
