Khorda district administration imposes 16-hour shutdown barring Bhubaneswar city

The order will be enforced in areas including Khordha, Begunia, Bolagarh, Banapur, Tangi and Chilika, excluding Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation area.
Khorda district administration imposes 16-hour shutdown barring Bhubaneswar city

BHUBANESWAR: After Ganjam, the Khorda district administration on Tuesday imposed 16-hour complete shutdown in most areas of the district excluding Bhubaneswar city following a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases, a senior official said.

Khordha Collector Sitansu Rout said the restriction will remain in force for 16-hour between 2 pm and 6 am every day.

He said all shops except medicine stores will remain closed during the time.

The order will be enforced in areas including Khordha, Begunia, Bolagarh, Banapur, Tangi and Chilika, excluding Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation area, the Collector said.

However, people can collect their essentials from 6 am till 2 pm.

The week-end complete 24-hour shutdown on Saturdays and Sunday will also continue, he said.

"We are forced to take this decision as people make crowds in markets and do not maintain social distancing," the collector said, adding that the decision was taken following the sudden spurt in positive cases in different areas of the district in the last couple of days.

The district, which first reported a COVID-19 positive case on March 15, has so far reported 369 cases including seven on Tuesday.

The district now has 104 active cases while 259 patients have recovered and four persons have died of the disease.

Earlier on Sunday, the Ganjam district administration had also imposed a similar restriction declaring a 16-hour shutdown.

The district has reported the highest 698 positive cases including eight on Tuesday following the return of more than 2 lakh migrant workers to the district.

Ganjam has reported six COVID deaths while 79 cases are still active and 613 people have recovered from the disease.

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