COVID-19 testing (Representational photo)  |  Photo Credit: AP
Bhubaneswar: In view of the decline in COVID-19 cases, the Odisha government ordered the relaxation of the night curfew by an hour starting from February 1 (Tuesday) and allowed Saraswati Puja in schools. The night curfew will remain to be in force in urban areas from 10 pm to 5 am.
As per the latest notification issued by the Odisha governmnet, shops, malls, shopping complexes, markets, haats, cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment complexes, theatres, auditoriums, assembly halls are allowed to operate from 5 am to 10 pm.
Saraswati Puja has been allowed in temples but no devotees will be permitted. In schools, very few students should be in attendance for the puja celebrations. Large congregations at river banks, ghats, ponds and beaches for bathing on Magha Saptami are prohibited.
Restaurants are permitted to open for home delivery services during night curfew. Emergency services will also continue during the night curfew. Restaurants and online aggregators such as Swiggy, Zomato, OPOLFED, OMFED, Chilika Fresh etc allowed home delivery of food, groceries, vegetables, egg, fish, meat, milk and other essential products.
The state government offices and public undertakings, corporations, societies and autonomous bodies are allowed to operate with 100 per cent capacity, adhering to COVID-19 protocols. The order issued by Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), PK Jena said that the online meetings and training should be encouraged.
The Odisha government employees, who test positive for COVID-19, allowed to take leave for a week, an official release stated.
“In the present situation of the third Covid wave, it has been decided that seven days’ leave is to be allowed in case any employee contracts the COVID-19 infection. This directive will come into force with immediate effect,” the notification said.
Odisha reported 3,329 fresh COVID cases and 18 more fatalities on January 31, 2022. A six-year-old girl succumbed to the deadly contagious virus in Dhenkanal.
Odisha now has 47,210 active COVID cases.