The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) of the Odisha government on Friday ordered the shutdown of schools, colleges, universities, and technical institutions across the state starting January 10 until February 1 amid the growing concern of the Covid-19 spike in the country.
The only exception, however, are the medical, nursing colleges and institutions under the control of the Health and Family Welfare Department are allowed to function.
“All Colleges/ Universities/ Technical Educational Institutions (other than Medical Colleges/Nursing Colleges & Institutions under control of Health & FW Deptt.) under the superintendence of Government of Odisha shall remain closed with effect from 10th January 2022,” an official order said.
As per the new order, hostels at these institutions will also remain closed from Jan 10.
However, online classes will continue and ongoing offline examinations will be allowed to continue as per the program by complying with Covid appropriate behaviour.
"As the State is passing through a critical stage of pandemic due to resurgence of COVID-19 in some parts of the State, the State government felt it necessary to strictly adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols for containment of spread of the infection, Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Jena said.
As many as 2703 Covid-19 positive cases have been detected in the last 24 hours in the state. The total cases include 409 in the 0-18 years age group have been found, informed the Information & Public Relations (I&PR) Department on Friday.
Among the 2,703 positives, 1,579 are quarantine cases and 1,124 are local contacts.
(with inputs from sources)
