Odisha: Lockdown Extended Till April 30

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 09, Apr 2020, 19:46 pm IST | UPDATED: 09, Apr 2020, 19:46 pm IST

Delhi: Odisha on Thursday became the first state to extend the lockdown till April 30 effectively, in order to contain and mitigate the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the state. The step comes amid uncertainty over the extension of 21-day nationwide lockdown which is supposed to end on April 15.

Schools and other educational institutions will remain closed till June 17, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced after a video conference with his ministers. "We have decided to extend the lockdown period till April 30 and a recommendation in this regard will be sent to the Centre," he said in a video message.

Patnaik said the state has also urged the Centre to stop train and flight services to Odisha till April 30.

The Odisha government on Wednesday declared more areas as containment zones for surveillance and contact tracing of novel coronavirus infection, though no fresh positive case was detected in the state since Tuesday. Odisha has recorded 44 positive cases of coronavirus so far.

The nationwide lockdown was declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 to break the chain of coronavirus transmission and it was scheduled to be lifted on April 15.