Odisha 1st to extend lockdown till Apr 30

Ashok.Pradhan@timesgroup.com

Bhubaneswar:10.04.2020

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced the extension of the ongoing lockdown to contain the Covid-19 pandemic to April 30. With this, Odisha became the first state to extend the 21-day national lockdown, which is set to end at April 14-15 midnight.

The state has also decided to request the Centre to extend the national lockdown and not restart train and flight services in the near future, Patnaik said and added that his government would test at least one lakh people for Covid-19, using rapid testing kits at the earliest. These announcements were made after he chaired a cabinet meeting via videoconferencing. “The state cabinet, which met today, decided that saving the lives of our people is the top most priority at this juncture,” he said.

3 teams but no exit strategy for TN yet

Unlike neighbours Kerala and Karnataka, TN is yet to finalise a lockdown exit strategy. TN has set up three panels — a task force, a committee of medical experts and a think-tank of multidisciplinary experts — to help it contain the Covid-19 pandemic. As per sources, the task force has come up with six options, but consensus remains elusive. P2

Education institutes in Odisha to remain closed till June 17: Patnaik

Naveen Patnaik said in a video message to the people of Odisha, “We have decided to extend the lockdown till April 30. While the Centre seems to be in favour of extending the lockdown too, it has not made its decision public yet.”

“We will recommend to the Government of India to extend the national lockdown up to April 30,” he said, adding, “At this crucial juncture, one has to decide between protecting the lives of the people and economic activity.”

About educational institutions in the state, Naveen said they would remain closed till June 17. “I know it involves a lot of sacrifice, hardship and uncertainty but this is the only way to face this crisis.”

The CM said discipline and sacrifice (of the people) had helped Odisha keep its Covid-19 patient tally low. The state has reported 44 positive cases since March 15, when it first detected its first case. The death toll in the state stands at one.

“In the same period, the US, a superpower, has moved from 3,000 to four lakh cases. The US has lost more people to Covid-19 than to all the wars (it has fought) and to the 9/11 attack put together. They have still not locked down the country as a whole,” Naveen said and reiterated the need for an extension of the ongoing lockdown to contain the infection’s spread.

The CM said activities related to agriculture, animal husbandry and MGNREGS would be facilitated during the lockdown but with strict adherence to social distancing norms.

Full report on www.toi.in