BHUBANESWAR: In view of the worsening Covid-19 situation in Chhattisgarh and adjoining western Odisha districts, the government on Thursday suspended all public transport from Odisha to the neighbouring state and vice versa till April 30.
In a fresh order, the government said the Transport department with the help of State Police and under active guidance of the district collectors will set up border check points (BCPs) at strategic locations and entry points to manage the incoming persons and vehicles.
Persons coming through the BCPs will have to produce final vaccination certificate or RT-PCR negative report obtained within 72 hours of entry to the State else, they will be put in home or institutional quarantine for seven days, the order issued by Chief Secretary SC Mahapatra said.
The order said the incoming persons will have to give an undertaking and submit a filled up form containing the name of the person, name of the place from where s/he is coming, address of destination, mobile phone number and alternate contact number.
Besides, people coming to Odisha by any public transport like train, bus, aeroplane, waterways or private vehicles from any part of the country will have to produce RT-PCR negative report obtained within 72 hours of entry or final vaccination certificate. It will be effective from April 12. People coming without such report will have to undergo seven-day mandatory home or institutional quarantine.
Collectors of Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Malkangiri, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Balasore have also been authorised to set up and operationalise temporary medical centres/cluster temporary medical centres as per requirement for providing institutional quarantine facilities for people coming from other states.
Expenditure for opening and running such facilities will be borne from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, it said. The government has also asked all industries, educational institutions and commercial establishments to ensure implementation of all Covid appropriate behaviour/protocols and set up their own isolation facilities for positive persons found in their establishments. However, the expenditure for setting up Covid care centres/Covid care homes will have to be borne by the institutions.