Covid-19: Odisha becomes first state to extend lockdown to April 30

The state, which has had just one casualty among 44 infected, built a state-of-the-art hospital exclusively for Corona patients within a week

Odisha, the state that took the lead in announcing a lockdown to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, has also become the first to extend it till April 30.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced the decision to defer the lockdown given the gravity of the situation, after chairing an exigent Cabinet meeting. He said he would urge the Centre to extend the lockdown till the end of this month.

The Odisha CM admitted it was a tough decision as he had to choose between saving ‘people’s lives’ and ‘economic activity’.

“I know it involves a lot of sacrifice, hardship and uncertainty but this is the only way to face this crisis,” said he.

Since the outbreak of the deadly pandemic, Odisha has had 44 Covid-19 positive cases. The state has had one casualty - that of a 72-year-old man - while two are recovering. State authorities have taken the fight against Coronavirus by building the first state-of-the-art exclusive hospital for treating the infected patients in an astonishingly short span of a week.

The state government would make a plea to the Centre not to recommence flight operations and railway services till April 30.

“Odisha will take care of all the people who are stranded in Odisha. Activities related to agriculture, animal husbandry and MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) will be facilitated during the lockdown period following social-distancing norms. In a larger context food security of the people is a major priority of the state. As has been stated earlier, there will not be any problem in transport of goods .We are leaving no stone unturned in scaling up Covid testing and treatment facilities . We propose to do 100,000 rapid testing in the state at the earliest possible time,”