With two confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Odisha, Government has been on high alert. Coronavirus has been spreading around the country, and Odisha government following the situation strictly and have ordered to maintain a safe distance when in social surroundings. In effect, immediately bars, coffee cafes, restaurants, and all public places have been closed to minimize the impact and stop the spread of coronavirus COVID-19.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik moved quickly on Saturday to lock down approximately half of the state, capital Bhubaneswar as well, for a week beginning 7 am on March 22. The government of Odisha has instructed people to only go out for getting essential supplies like ration and medical needs. The first districts to be lockdown are from where the 70% are foreign returnees returned to Odisha. Five areas — Khurdha, Cuttack, Ganjam, Kendrapada, and Angul — and eight towns of Puri, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Balasore, Jajpur Road, Jajpur town and Bhadrak have been placed under the lockdown.

The gathering of beyond seven people is restricted in Odisha by the government, as stated by the press note by OSD to Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathi. Also, all hotels are directed to maintain a distance of 2 meters among guests in their in-house restaurants. All restaurants and hotels have been issued advisories to encourage their guests and customers to take takeaways. Odisha government also ordered the immediate closing of all liquor stores until further instructions are sent. The private company has been instructed to work from home, and if they cannot do it, they will have to get a certificate from the district collector to allow them their operations in the office space.

In another advisory, the Odisha government has given ordered for implementation of the odd-even method for public vehicles like buses, taxis, and autos. “The measures have been taken to contain the spread of Covid-19. The odd-even formula is for public transport vehicles. However, there is no bar on plying private vehicles on any day,” Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Prem Chand Choudhry.