We Cannot Go Back to Era of Lockdowns: Naveen

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today suggested that the country should not go back to the era of lockdowns.

“We cannot go back to the era of lockdowns. However at the same time we need to ensure that the virus spread is also contained through renewed efforts in awareness and enforcement”, said Naveen at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers to review the COVID-19 situation in the country.

The Odisha CM said, “Over the last one year, the world has seen unprecedented crisis due to the Covid-19 situation. It was a difficult year for every human being as the virus spread to all parts of the world. Families and societies have been affected not only in terms of health crisis but also severe impact on the economy and livelihoods as well”.

Odisha has been able to control the pandemic and limit its damage to a large extent due to the cooperation of people, he said.

“We in Odisha are affected by disasters like cyclones almost every year. Our administrative machinery is well prepared to deal with crisis situations”.

“Thankfully with the cooperation of people of Odisha we have been able to control the pandemic and limit its damage to a large extent”, he said.

“Our health staff and administrative system have been working continuously throughout this crisis period”, he added.

The roll out of the vaccine has been helpful in providing hope to our citizens that the end of the pandemic is nearing. We are ever grateful to the scientific community for developing vaccines at such short notice. It’s a matter of pride for us that India is leading in vaccine manufacture. We need to involve further the private sector in expediting the vaccination program, he said.

The long period of this crisis has brought fatigue and complacency in following covid health protocols. We need to be careful as multiple surges of covid spread is the reality in many countries and as witnessed in many states in India as well, the Chief Minister said.