No. of guests in marriages restricted to 100 in this Odisha district

Dhenkanal: After the detection of as many as 53 COVID-19 cases from a +2 residential college in Dhenkanal town, the district administration today restricted the maximum number of guests in marriages, thread ceremony, funerals and related gatherings to 100.

“All public gatherings including marriage, thread ceremony/ bratopanayan, funerals, last rites and related gatherings shall be allowed with a ceiling of 100 persons (for the entire event) including hosts, guests, priests, catering and other support staff with adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols,” an official order of the District Collector’s office said.

Other permitted official meetings and gatherings shall also be restricted to 100 participants only, the order added.

This order shall be enforced with immediate effect until further orders.

Notably, another 16 students of a +2 residential college in Kunjakanta area in Dhenkanal town have tested positive for COVID-19.

With this, the number of cases in the educational institution rose to 53.

Earlier in the day, 33 students of the college were found to be infected by the virus.

As part of precautionary measures, the Dhenkanal Municipality authorities have sealed buildings of the college and its hostel, declaring the campus as micro containment zone.

Meanwhile, a show-cause notice has been served to the college authorities for allowing the students to vacate the hostels. Besides, the respective local authorities have been asked to keep the infected students under isolation.

Yesterday, the administration had declared Kunjakanta area as containment zone for a period of 10 days.