Unlock 4 in Odisha: No weekend shutdown, night curfew, but religious places, cinema halls to remain closed

Bhubaneswar: Two days after the Centre issued guidelines for opening up of more activities, the Odisha government today released its guidelines for Unlock-4.

While the State government did not allow opening up of religious places of worship for public and cinema halls, swimming pools and entertainment complexes till September 30, the weekend shutdown and night curfew have been lifted in the new set of guidelines.

The State Government issued the following guidelines from September 1 to 30:

1. Lockdown in Containment Zones

i. Lockdown shall be enforced within the Containment Zones till September 30, 2020.

ii. Local authorities i.e., District Collector/ Municipal Commissioner shall demarcate containment zones in accordance with the guidelines of MoHFW, Government of India/H&FW Department, Government of Odisha. The Containment Zones will be notified by the respective District Collectors/ Municipal Commissioners and information will be shared with MOHFW. The notification shall be uploaded by the District Collector and by the State on their websites.

In the Containment Zones, only essential activities will be allowed. There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining supply of essential goods and services. There shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required. Guidelines of MOHFW/ H&FW Department, Government of Odisha shall be taken into consideration for the above purpose.

iii. In the Containment Zones, only essential activities will be allowed. There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining supply of essential goods and services. There shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required.

No authority shall impose any local lockdown at District, Subdivision, City or below level outside the containment zones. However, whenever required in the interest of containment of the disease and prevention of the spread of infection, restrictions on mobility, congregation, operation of shops and establishments, offices and other activities may be imposed in consultation with the Central Government.

2. Regulation of activities in areas outside the Containment Zones. The following establishments/ activities will continue to remain closed till September 30, 2020 throughout the State:

i. Religious places/places of Worship for public,

ii. International air travel of passengers, except as permitted by MHA.

iii. Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment complexes, theatres, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places

However, open air theatres and similar places will be permitted to open with effect from September 21, 2020.

iv. Social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions and other large congregations.

v. Schools, college, universities, other educational/training/coaching institutions, aganwadis will remain closed for the purpose of teaching till end of Puja vacations in the month of October 2020.

However, the followings will be permitted:

a. Conduct of examinations, evaluation and other administrative activities.

b. Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged.

c. School & Mass Education Department/ Higher Education Department may permit upto 50% of teaching and non-teaching staff to be called to the schools at a time for online teaching/ telecounselling and related work, in areas outside the Containment Zones only with effect from September 21, 2020 as per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW).

d. Skill or Entrepreneurship training will be permitted in National Skill Training Institutes, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIS), Short term training centres registered with National Skill Development Corporation or State Skill Development Missions or other Ministries of Government of India or State Governments.

National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) and their training providers will also be permitted.

These will be permitted with effect from September 21, 2020 for which SOP will be issued by MOHFW. Skill Development &Training Institutes, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIS), Short term training centres registered with National Skill Development Corporation or State Skill Development Missions or other Ministries of Government of India or State Governments. National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) and their training providers will also be permitted.

e. Higher Education Institutions only for research scholars (Ph.D.) and postgraduate students of technical and professional programmes requiring laboratory/ experimental works. These will be permitted by the Department of Higher Education (DHE) in consultation with MHA, based on the assessment of the situation, and keeping in view incidence of COVID-19 in the States/UTs.

Subject to other provisions of this order, activities that are not specifically prohibited/ regulated/ restricted above are allowed subject to adherence to safety and health protocols and SOPs/ guidelines issued by appropriate authorities.

3. Functioning of Offices All offices of State and Central Government and in Private Sector must ensure adherence to the SOP on preventive measures to contain spread of COVID-19 in offices issued by Department of H&FW, Government of Odisha dated 30 June 2020 (Annexure-I). Non-adherence to these guidelines will invite action under appropriate provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005.

4. General Directives for COVID-19 Management

The following General Directives for COVID-19 Management shall be strictly followed throughout the State:

a. Face coverings/ Masks: Wearing of face cover/ mask properly is compulsory in public places; in workplaces; and in public transport.

b. Social distancing: Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet in public places.

c. Shops and Commercial Establishments will ensure physical distancing and use of face cover/ mask by employees and customers. The onus of compliance to the guideline lies with the owner of the shop/ commercial establishment, who shall be liable for any violation which may lead to penal action including closure/sealing of the premises.

d. Salons, Spas, Beauty Parlours and Barber shops shall ensure all safety precautions, disinfection and sanitization before and after service of each customer. The onus of compliance to the guideline lies with the owner, who shall be liable for any violation, which may lead to penal action including closurel sealing of the premises.

e. Marriage related gatherings shall not exceed 50 persons and funeral/ last rites related gatherings shall not exceed 20 persons. Spitting in public places will be punishable with fine, as prescribed in accordance with laws, rules or regulations (Annexure-III & -IV).

f. Consumption of liquor, paan, gutka, tobacco, etc. in public places is prohibited.

5. Movement of persons and goods

a. There shall be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons, private vehicles and goods including those for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries.

No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements. b. Inter-State and Intra-State movement of Passenger Buses is allowed with
effect from 15 September, 2020.

5. Movement of persons with SOPs Movement by passenger trains; domestic passenger air travel; movement of persons on Vande Bharat and Air Transport Bubble flights, and sign-on and signoff of Indian seafarers will continue to be regulated as per SOPs issued.

6. Safety and Protection of vulnerable persons The following categories of people are advised against outdoor movement, except for essential and health purposes till 30 September, 2020.

a. Persons above 65 years of age b. persons with co-morbidities c. pregnant women d. children below the age of 10 years 8.

Use of AarogyaSetu

i. Aarogya Setu enables early identification of potential risk of infection, and thus acts as a shield for individuals and the community

ii. With a view to ensuring safety in offices and workplaces, employers on best effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Setu is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones.

iii. District authorities may advise individuals to install the Aarogya Setu application on compatible mobile phones and regularly update their health status on the app. This will facilitate timely provision of medical attention to those individuals who are at risk.

7. Strict enforcement of the guidelines i. These guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 shall not be diluted in any manner. ii. All the District Magistrates/ Municipal Commissioners/ Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack shall strictly enforce the above measures.

8. Penal provisions Any person violating these measures will be liable to be proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and Regulations issued thereunder besides legal action under Section 188 of the IPC and other legal provisions as applicable.