Odisha Extends Lockdown in Containment Zones, Announces Reopening of Prohibited Activities in Phased Manner

By The Newsroom Network On Jun 1, 2020

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government today announced the extension of lockdown in all COVID-19 containment zones in the State till June 30 and re-opening of prohibited activities in phased manners in areas outside the containment zones.

A detailed guideline has been issued by the Office of Special Relief Commissioner in this regard.

Here are the details:

1. This order will come into force with effect from 01.6.2020.

2. Lockdown limited to Containment Zones

i. Lockdown shall continue to remain in force in the Containment Zones till 30th June, 2020.

ii. Containment Zones will be demarcated by the District Collectors/Municipal Commissioners as per the guidelines of MOHFW, Government of India/ H&FW Department of Government of Odisha.

iii. In the Containment Zones, only essential activities shall be allowed.

There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining supply of essential goods and services. There shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required. Guidelines Of MOHFW shall be taken into consideration for the above purpose.

iv. District Collectors/ Municipal Commissioners may also identify Buffer Zones outside the Containment Zones, where new cases are more likely to occur. Within the buffer zones, restrictions as considered necessary may be put in place by the Local authorities.

3. Graded re-opening of areas outside the Containment Zones

In areas outside Containment Zones, activities will be regulated as below:

a. The following establishments/ activities will continue to remain closed till 30th June, 2020:

(i) Religious places/ places of worship for public.

(ii) Shopping malls

(iii) International air travel of passengers, except as permitted by MHA.

(iv) Cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.

(v) Social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academy cultural/religious functions and other large congregations.

b. Hotels will be allowed to operate up to 30% capacity. Restaurant service will be open only for in-house guests.

c. Restaurants and Hotels are permitted for home delivery/ takeaways Of food.

d. Schools, colleges, other educational/ training/ coaching institutions, etc. will remain closed till 31st July, 2020.

Activities that are not specifically prohibited/ regulated/restricted above are allowed.

Standard Operating Procedures (sops) for the establishments/ activities mentioned above issued by Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) and other Ministries Of Government Of India/ Department Of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Odisha, for the above activities will be strictly followed for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19.

4. Directives for COVID-19 Management

The following Directives for COVID-19 Management shall be strictly followed throughout the State:

a. Face covering: Wearing of face cover is compulsory in public places; in workplaces; and during transport.

b. Social distancing: Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet in public places.

c. Shops will ensure physical distancing among customers. The owner Of the shop shall be liable for any violation.

d. Salons, spas, beauty parlors and barber shops shall ensure all safety precautions, disinfection and sanitization before and after service of each customer.

e. Gatherings: Public gatherings/ congregations of more than 7 persons are prohibited.

f. Marriage belated gatherings: Number of guests not to exceed 50.

9. Funeral/ last rites related gatherings: Number Of persons not to exceed 20.

h. Spitting in public places will be punishable with fine, as prescribed in accordance with laws, rules or regulations.

i. Consumption of liquor, paan, gutkha, tobacco, etc. in public places is prohibited.

Additional directives for Work Places

j. Work from home (WfH): As far as possible the practice Of WFH should be followed.

k. Staggering of work and business hours will be followed in offices, work places, shops, markets and industrial & commercial establishments.

I. Screening & hygiene: Provision for thermal scanning, hand wash and sanitizer will be made at all entry and exit points and common areas.

m. Frequent sanitization of entire workplace, common facilities and all points which come into human contact e.g. door handles, etc., will be ensured, including between shifts.

n. Social distancing: AIl persons in charge of work places will ensure adequate distance between workers, adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch breaks of staff, etc.

5. Unrestricted movement of persons and goods

(i) There shall be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods. No permission, approval, e-permit will be required for such movements.

(ii) Intra-State Buses, City Buses, Taxis (including cabs by aggregators like Ola, Uber, etc.), Auto Rickshaws and other Passenger Vehicles, are allowed to operate with up to sitting capacity of the vehicle, as mentioned in the Registration Certificate.

(iii) Movement by passenger trains and shramik special trains; domestic passenger air travel; movement of Indian Nationals stranded outside the country and of specified persons to travel abroad; evacuation of foreign nationals; and sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers will continue to be regulated as per sops issued by Govt. of India.

(iv) Movement of any type of goods/ cargo for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries shall not be stopped.

6. Night curfew

Movement of individuals shall remain strictly prohibited between 7.00 pin to 5.00 am throughout the State, except for essential activities.

The District Collectors/ Police Commissioner, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack shall issue orders, in the entire area of their jurisdiction, under appropriate provisions of law, such as under Section 144 of Crpc, and ensure strict compliance.

This restriction shall not apply to:

• District and Municipal Administration/ Police/ Government officials on duty

• Doctors, Medical/ Paramedical Staff (Govt. & Private)

• Staff of IT & ITes Companies on production their ID cards

• Any person, in case of medical or other emergency

• Owner/ staff of chemist shops

• All industrial units

• All construction activities

• Movement of Public Transport, private vehicles and taxis (including cabs by aggregators like Ola, Uber, etc.) to and from airports, railway station and bus terminals/ stands/ stops, for facilitating movement of passengers by air, rail and road.

7. Weekend Shutdown

In the interest of public health and the containment of spread of COVID-19 in the State, shutdown shall be imposed in the districts of Ganjam, Puri, Nayagarh, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Bolangir, on all Saturdays and Sundays till 30th June, 2020. During this shutdown, only the following activities shall be allowed:

• All medical establishments including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, including medicine stores. Movement of Ambulance and all medical personnel.

• District and Municipal Administration/ Police/ Fire Services

• Central & State Government officials on emergency duty

• Telecom services

• Petrol pumps

• Electronic Media identified by Commissionerate/ District Police

• Water supply, sanitation and sewerage workers

• Electricity supply and distribution

• Movement of goods and good carriers, whether loaded or unloaded

• Industrial establishments, factories and construction activities

• Service sector industries, including IT/ ITes, Hotel & Hospitality units

• Movement of rail and air transport

• Road transport on highways, road movement of transiting vehicles

• Marriages and Funerals, with permission of local authority

8, Based on their assessment of the situation, District Collectors/ Municipal Commissioners may impose area specific additional restrictions on activities outside tlle Containment zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary for containing the spread Of COVID-19.

9. Quarantine Policy

The quarantine period for returnee(s) to the State will be limited to 14 days. This shall be implemented by local authorities i.e., District Collectors/Municipal Commissioners.

Returnee(s) in rural areas will undergo 7 days of mandatory institutional quarantine, post which asymptomatic returnee(s) shall be discharged to undergo home quarantine for a further period of 7 days. If the local authorities find it necessary for reasons related to containment of COVID-19 and to prevent spread of infection, they may extend the period of institutional quarantine of the returnee(s). In case the quarantinee develops symptoms requiring medical attention, he/ she may be shifted to COVID Care Centre/ COVID Hospital.

In urban areas, the returnee(s) shall have to compulsorily stay in home quarantine for a period of 14 days, observing guidelines issued by H&FW Dept., Govt. of Odisha. If the returnee does not have proper quarantine facility at home, he/ she shall undergo institutional/ paid quarantine for a duration as directed by the local authorities.

Individuals travelling to the State by regular train and air services will have to undergo mandatory quarantine, as prescribed above.

The following categories of travelers shall be exempt from mandatory quarantine in the State, upon arrival in Odisha:

a. Govt. officials, Professionals, businessmen or any other person travelling to Odisha on work and intending to exit the State by rail, road or air within 72 hrs

b. Govt. officials, Professionals, businessmen or any other person who have travelled from Odisha on work and are returning to the State within 72 hrs of departure from Odisha.

10. Safety and Protection of vulnerable persons

Outdoor movement of the following category of people is prohibited, except for essential and health purposes till 31St August, 2020.

a. Persons above 65 years of age

b. persons with co-morbidities

c. pregnant women

d. children below the age of 10 years

11.Use Of Aarogya Setu

/;) Aarogya setu enables early identification of potential risk of infection, and thus acts as a shield for individuals and the community,

//.) With a view to ensuring safety in offices and work places, employers on best effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Setu is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones.

iii) District authorities may advise individuals to install the Aarogya Setu application on compatible mobile phones and regularly update their health status on the app, This will facilitate timely provision of medical attention to those individuals who are at risk.

12. Strict enforcement of the guidelines

(i) These guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, shall not be diluted in any manner.

(ii) All the District Magistrates/ Municipal commissioners/ Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack shall strictly enforce the above measures.

13. Penal provisions
Any person violating these measures will be liable to be proceeded against as per the provisions of Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, besides legal action under Sectionl88 of the IPC, and other legal provisions as applicable.