Covid-19 2nd Wave: Odisha Curbs Holi Celebrations Amid Spike In Cases, Check Restrictions In Other States

Several states are on tenterhooks and implementing restrictions ahead of Holi with Odisha curbing Holi celebrations in public places this year.

With cases of the viral disease surging across India, several states are on tenterhooks and implementing restrictions ahead of Holi celebrations. Odisha has gone ahead and banned Holi celebrations in public places this year. 

Here are restrictions in other states:

Odisha

Odisha has registered 100 plus new Covid-19 cases after a gap of 40 days following which the state government banned Holi celebrations, as per the PTI report. The order came in the wake of a spike in Covid-19 cases in the Cuttack and Khurda districts. Around 110 new positive cases were reported from the state taking the tally to 3,38,599, a health department official said. The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) in an order said, "Holi on March 28 and March 29 and related rituals shall not be observed in public places throughout the state."

People are asked to celebrate Holi with family members in their houses but not in any public places including public roads, as per the order.  Also, restrictions have been imposed on celebrating the "Dola" festival where people take Lord Krishna and Devi Radha in a palanquin called "Biman".

"Congregations for the celebration of Dola Jatra and associated religious and cultural congregations shall not be allowed in public places throughout the state. Religious rituals in temples will continue as usual with strict adherence to Covid protocols," the order said.

The order also said that the Dola festival may be allowed with an appropriate number of participants as decided by the district or municipal authorities in their respective jurisdictions with strict adherence to Covid safety norms.

The 110 new positive cases were reported from 22 of the 30 districts of Odisha, a health department official said.  Cuttack district reported the highest of 20 cases of which 13 were from a private college hostel. The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has closed the college for 10 days.

Rajasthan

The situation is no better in Rajasthan as the chief minister Ashok Gehlot noted that the state has witnessed a three-time rise in the positivity rate of coronavirus infection within a week. As per Hindustan Times report, the CM while reviewing the situation said on the basis of the shared experience of fighting Corona during the last one year, the state has to save the people from the danger of the second wave.

The state has registered more than 300 new positive cases each day in the state and the total number of active cases had gone past the three-thousand mark, as per the report.

Maharashtra

The state has reported 25,681 new cases on Friday, the second-highest one-day rise since the pandemic began last year, a health official said.The caseload in the state crossed the 24 lakh-mark to rise to 24,22,021. With 70 fatalities, death toll reached 53,208, the official said. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has once again reiterated that a lockdown is an option but he trusts people to follow the norms on their own. While stating about the situation turning grimmer as the number of new cases on Thursday crossed the earlier highest rise which was recorded in September and appealed to people to get vaccinated against the virus without fear.

Gujarat

In Gujarat, around 300 fresh Covid-19 cases have emerged in the Surat city, and the the night curfew timing has been increased by an hour. Instead of 10 pm earlier, the night curfew will now start from 9 pm and end at 6 am, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) said on Friday.

Gujarat added 1,415 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 2,83,864, the state Health Department said on Friday evening, as per PTI report.  A day after asking schools in eight major cities to continue only with online education, the state government on Friday ordered closure of all the tuition classes in these cities till April 10.

Punjab

Punjab has closed all educational institutions other than medical and nursing colleges in the state till 31 March in view of the rising cases in the state. On Thursday the state reported 2,387 new cases. Balbir Singh Sidhu, Punjab Health Minister said,"CM-level COVID-19 review meeting happened yesterday. Night curfew from 9 pm to be announced in 11 districts where cases rising. To contain the spread, colleges, schools to be closed, only medical colleges to remain open," news agency ANI reported. The Punjab government also announced that the cinema halls will operate at 50 per cent capacity and not more than 100 persons will be allowed in a mall at any time.

Kerala

Kerala reported 1,984 new cases of Covid-19 and 17 deaths on Friday. Kozhikode reported the highest number of cases (261) followed by Thrissur (203) and Ernakulam (185) on the day. The active caseload has now risen to 25,158 with the total deaths now 4,467, as per PTI.

A total of 53,184 samples were tested in the last 24 hours as the test positivity rate stood at 3.73 per cent. Amid the rising cases in the state, Karnataka government on Thursday said that RT-PCR Covid test report is mandatory for passengers arriving from Kerala.

Tamil Nadu

After a gap of over 80 days, Tamil Nadu logged above 1,000 COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing the total caseload to nearly 8.65 lakh, while nine fatalities took the toll to 12,582. The state recorded 1,087 cases on Friday. Tamil Nadu last reported over 1,000 cases in December 28, 2020.

Recoveries were on the lesser side, with 610 people getting discharged, taking the cumulative number to 8,45,178 leaving 6,690 active cases, a health bulletin said. Chennai constituted the bulk of fresh cases with 421 infections, aggregating to 2,40,671 so far. The metropolis also leads in the number of fatalities with 4,194.