CS Suresh Mahapatra To Announce New Guidelines Today

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra will announce the new Covid-29 guidelines for the State today at 2:30 pm. It is expected that more districts could be added to the A Category list as the number of infections is on the decline. While the state’s average positivity rate is remaining less than three percent for the last few days, the numbers have also declined significantly.

Districts such as Khordha, Cuttack, Puri, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Balasore and Nayagrh may see continuation of the present restrictions as the number of active cases is high. Test positivity rate in the districts of Puri, Khordha, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur is more than five percent. The government is expected to ease more restrictions in the districts where the number of active cases and the test positivity rate is minimal and declining such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Nabarangpur and all the western Odisha districts. While opening of temples for devotees and religious congregations may not be allowed, the government can ease restrictions on marriage functions, opening of malls, markets, haats and hotels in the Category A districts.