Covid spike in Odisha: Schools, colleges shut, night curfew imposed

The Odisha government has imposed additional restrictions, which include a maximum of 50 people can participate in funeral rites while only 30 people are allowed to participate in marriage processions.

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has issued fresh Covid guidelines in the wake of a surge in cases in the State. The guidelines will be in place from 5 am on January 7 to 5 am on February 1.

While the Class X Summative exam in Odisha will continue as per schedule, physical classroom teaching at schools and colleges for classes up to XII will remain suspended. Meanwhile, online classes will continue.

Odisha's Covid tally continues to rise as there has been a sharp spike of 1,897 cases in the last 24 hours. This includes 258 children. Out of the 1,897 cases, 1,106 were detected in quarantine while 791 are local contact cases. With this, the Covid tally in the state reached 1,059,773 with 5,739 active cases.
Additional Restrictions:Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena said night curfew will be imposed in urban areas of the State from 9 pm to 5 am. At present, the night curfew is underway from 10 pm to 5 am.

Schools and colleges can organise doubt clearing classes for students of Class X and XII after getting consent from their parents, he added.

Additional restrictions include a decrease in the number of people allowed to attend marriage and other ceremonies. A maximum of 50 people can participate in funeral rites while only 30 people can participate in marriage processions.

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“Business establishments such as shops, malls and shopping complexes will remain open till 9 pm. It will be the responsibility of shops and mall owners to ensure that their business establishments are not crowded. If they don’t ensure adherence to the directive, their business establishments will be sealed for seven days and further action will be initiated,” Jena added.

The SRC said the Odisha government offices will run with 50% capacity from next week and the general administration and public grievance department will issue a standard operating procedure (SOP) in connection with this later. He also asked private organisations to work with minimal staff and promote the work-from-home facility.