Aim is to balance between life, livelihood during ongoing COVID-19 crisis: Odisha govt

The Odisha government on Monday announced some restrictive measures to tackle COVID-19 challenge due to the influx of migrants in the state.

"The government is systematically trying to balance between life and livelihood in this unprecedented crisis situation. The Chief Minister has said that the month of June is very crucial for us in the containment of COVID-19 as due to relaxation, more number of people will return from outside which may enhance the spread of coronavirus," said Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy.

Odisha has seen a sharp spike in COVID -19 positive cases recently. As per the state government, about 95 per cent of these cases have been reported from quarantine centres.

"To date, 4,26,504 migrants have returned to the state. When more migrants would come, the positive cases might increase. Due to systematic efforts, the state is in a better situation at present," Tripathy said.

As per the Chief Secretary, the state government has established 16,644 Temporary Medical Centres (TMCs) with 7,38,000 bed capacity to quarantine the people. At present 2,49,769 persons are in these quarantine centres and 2,87,453 persons have been discharged.

Earlier today, the Odisha government announced a complete weekend shutdown in 11 districts having high migrant load for the month of June. It also announced 14 days of compulsory quarantine, along with the seven-day institutional quarantine for people in rural areas.

People have been debarred from visiting religious places till June 30. Schools and colleges in Odisha will also stay closed till June 30. The elderly and small children have been barred from coming out of homes and there is a fine for not wearing masks.

( With inputs from ANI )