Odisha Police gets special powers for effective enforcement of Coronavirus lockdown

As the entire nation is grappling with the Coronavirus pandemic, the Odisha government has granted special powers to the state police for effective enforcement of lockdown in the wake of the crisis. Odisha government has decided to empower police officers to take necessary action against violators. Meanwhile, State Home Department has authorised Officers-In-Charge of various police stations to file complaints without any hesitation in the courts under Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

READ | Coronavirus: Odisha To Conduct 5,000 Tests In Next 7 Days In Bhubaneswar

Odisha fights a grim battle against Coronavirus

In a significant improvement in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Odisha's controlling measures have been effective in a way that the state has not recorded any COVID-19 positive case in the past 72 hours. A total of 1,024 samples were tested on April 17 (till midnight). The last five COVID-19 positive cases were detected on April 14.

READ | Amid Slim Pickings & Starvation, Odisha Gives A Ray Of Hope To Strays Hit By Lockdown

In an attempt to scale up testing, the Odisha government will soon start ‘pool testing’ of the samples of suspected Coronavirus cases. The Central government has given a nod to the proposal for pool testing and soon the infrastructure at Burla medical will be upgraded with the necessary equipment. The state government of Friday asked all the district collectors to ensure the safety of women and girls in the shelter camps that are housing thousands of migrant workers stranded due to lockdown.

READ | 2 More Recover From COVID-19 In Bhubaneswar, Total 21 Cured In Odisha

As of April 17, the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the state stands at 60, of which 21 have been recovered including the two recoveries on Friday from the state capital, reducing the number of active cases to 38. The state has reported on one death so far due to Coronavirus.