Covid 2.0: Odisha govt imposes stricter restrictions; see details here

Bhubaneswar: As the coronavirus cases surged in recent past, the Odisha government tightened the Covid restrictions. The government imposed the restrictions with effective from April 21, 2021 till May 15, 2021.

The Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena said in a presser the numbers of persons allowed in a marriage function shall not be more than 50 (for the entire event) including hosts, guests, priests and catering and other support staff.

Similarly, in case of funerals and last rites the ceiling on numbers of persons including host and family members, guests, priests and other support staff shall be twenty (20). Under no circumstances, the number of participants shall exceed the ceiling for the entire event, he added.

No marriage procession shall be allowed. In case of violations of this condition, the vehicles and equipment and accessories used in the procession shall be seized and criminal action taken against the host/ owner of the band/ baja/light/sound service provider.

Local authorities may, in addition to filing of criminal action under Epidemic Diseases Act, 1861, Disaster Management Act, 2006 and Indian Penal Code, suspend licenses up to one month and impose penalties under relevant laws/ rules/ regulations, the SRC said.

The list of participants should be submitted to the local authorities at least 24 hours before the marriage event. The list shall be conspicuously displayed at prominent locations of the venue which can be easily read by public from a distance of ten feet, Jena added.

If persons other than those declared before the local authorities and as such displayed are found present in the venue, it shall be considered as violations of the conditions of permission. Action as deemed proper under relevant sections of E.D Act, D.M Act and IPC shall be initiated against the owner of the venue as well as the host. Further Local Authorities may impose penalty on the host and owner of the venue apart from taking such other action as sealing, seizure and levy of penalty under prevailing rules/ guidelines/ orders of the local authorities, the SRC said.

No Social/ Cultural/ Political/ religious/ Academic meetings/ congregations shall be allowed. AII these activities are to be encouraged to be conducted on virtual mode. Also, no rallies/ processions of any sort shall be allowed.

Religious rituals in temples/ churches/ Mosques/ places of worship shall be permitted with limited number of priests and staff adhering to Covid safety protocols. As regards to entry of devotees into such religious places, District Magistrates may, looking into the prevailing situation in the district and in consultation with relevant stakeholders ,impose any further restrictions as deemed proper, the SRC added.

Wherever social functions, such as Birthday, Brata Ghar , Ekoisa, anniversary etc. shall have to be organized; they shall be organized within the house with only family members participating. No outside guests shall participate in any social functions.

No outside venue (hotels/ Kalyan Mandaps/ Resorts/ Clubs/Association Buildings) shall allow any social functions conducted in their premises.

Offering of feast/ guest entertainment/ community feast of any kind shall be prohibited irrespective of number of persons attending, the SRC added.

Haats and Markets including fish markets shall be decentralized and allowed to operate with minimum 30 feet distance from shop to shop. The shopkeepers and the buyers shall mandatorily abide by the Covid safety protocols like social distancing, use of mask. The local authorities shall demarcate areas for this purpose. Any violation of COVID-19 protocols will attract closure/ sealing/ cancellation of license of the concerned shops.

Malls shall operate with reduced number of customers. The mall owner shall ensure that persons entering malls are thoroughly screened for temperature, correct use of masks and physical distancing. No food court shall be open for seat- in dining. Only take away shall be allowed. No one shall be allowed to take/ consume food in the mall premises. It shall be the responsibility of the owner/ management of the mall to ensure that there is no overcrowding at any point of time within the shops and common areas.

It shall be the responsibility of all shop owners/shopkeepers and market associations to ensure that all their staff put on mask during the entire period of their stay in the shop premises. Under no circumstances, violation of this instruction will be tolerated.

Number of visitors/buyers to the shop shall be regulated by the market association/ shop owners/ shop keepers in such a way that a physical distance of six feet is maintained between buyer to buyer and buyer to shop keeper during the entire period of their stay in the shop.

The shop keepers shall make arrangement for thermal scanning and sanitizer/ hand washing for the buyers before allowing them to enter into the shop.

Over-crowding inside the shop shall not be allowed under any circumstances. Not adhering to the COVID safety protocols, or violating any previous orders regarding COVID safety regulations shall constitute offence under Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Epidemic Disease Act,1897. The trade licensing authorities may seal the shop and/ or suspend/cancel the trade license for appropriate duration as per relevant rules/ guidelines  /orders of the local ardthorities in case of violation of the COVID safety protocols.

Hotels / Restaurants shall not allow outside persons (other than their in-house resident guests) to dine inside the hotel and its restaurants in due compliance of Covid-19 protocols. However, hotels/ restaurants can serve take away food to customers/ buyers/ clients. Further the hotels/ restaurants can take on-line orders and deliver take away food to the customers.

No street food vendors shall serve food to consumers at the venue. They can, however, serve take away food to customers/ buyers/ clients.

The Odisha government decided not to allow Jatra/opera/open air theatres to operate.

The COVID protocols shall be strictly observed by the organisers of such facilities. Any violation of COVID-19 protocols shall attract closure, sealing and cancellation of license.

Permission for operation of above facilities/ gatherings shall be accorded by the respective District Magistrates/ Municipal Commissioners or other officers authorised by them.