Bhubaneswar, Apr 03 (UNI) In a major decision the Odisha government today declared 48 hours complete shut down of twin cities of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Bhadrak town in the state to break the chain of community transmission of coronavirus.
The state government initially declared Bhubaneswar and Bhadrak town a complete 48 hours shutdown as the Covid-19 positive cases, reported from these two places, four from Bhubaneswar and one from Bhadrak.
However, an hour after the announcement, the state government brought the Cuttack town also under complete shutdown for 48 hours from 8 PM tonight after the sixth Corona positive case was reported from the city.
The state government justified the decision to bring these three cities in the state under complete shutdown for 48 hours to launch an aggressive contact tracing to check the community transmission.
Sources said the fifth corona positive person has no travel history, either international or any states in the country. The sixth positive case had a travel history of Delhi and the authority is trying to find out as to whether he had attended the Markaz congregation in Delhi.
The government yesterday sealed the posh Suryanagar area of the capital city and declared the zone as prohibited, sealed all exit and entry points after one person from the area, whose name and address was disclosed by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Commissioner Premchand Choudhary with no travel history tested Covid-19 positive.
Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy said all grocery shops, vegetable shops, and essential commodities will remain closed during the shutdown period in these three cities and only some select medicine shops to be declared by the local authority will be opened during the period.
He said the complete shutdown for 48 hours was required to find out the contacts tracing of the Covid-19 patients to break the chain and prevent the spread of the Covid-19 disease.
The state government cancelled all the passes issued earlier by the authority and warned that those who will move out during the shutdown period, will be picked up by the enforcement agencies and kept in a 14-day quarantine. Cases will be registered against them and fine will be also imposed on the violators.
Odisha DGP Abhya said the situation during the 48 hours would be almost like a curfew-like situation and asked the people not to move out of their houses during the shutdown period.
Mr.Abhaya said the authority will issue special passes during the period in select cases and all passes earlier issued by the authority stands cancelled.
The DGP asked the people not to visit hospitals during the period with the symptoms of common ailment and in serious cases, get special permission from the authority.
The government, however, will allow the movement of vehicles carrying essential goods on the national highway during the complete shutdown period.
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