Take pledge to prevent Covid-19 during festive season: Odisha CM

Bhubaneswar, Oct 20 Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday urged the people to take a pledge to be more cautious to check the spread of Covid-19 during the festive season.

"Let us take a pledge before 'Maa' (goddess) to prevent the spread of infection," the Chief Minister said in a video message.

"The character profile of coronavirus is very critical. Therefore, we have to be cautious till a vaccine for Covid-19 is out," he added.

The Chief Minister said that not following the Covid-19 guidelines during the festive season will lead to further spread of the virus.

He cited the examples of European countries like the UK, France and Spain which are facing a second wave of Covid-19.

Patnaik said that though Kerala performed very well all along to control the virus, it suddenly witnessed a rise in cases following the Onam festival.

Experts claim that the Covid-19 outbreak will become worse during the coming winter months, he said.

"The number of positive cases in Odisha has dropped in the last two weeks. The single-day tally which was over 4,000 on September 26 has now come down to below 2,000. The positivity rate has also declined and will further fall in the coming days," Patnaik said.

However, the Chief Minister urged people to follow the guidelines such as wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing.

( With inputs from IANS )