Odisha lifts night curfew from urban areas as Covid cases drop

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government withdrew night curfew on Friday as the Covid-19 situation in the state improved.

The night curfew was in place in all urban areas of the state, including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri, from 10pm to 5am, restricting all non-essential travel.

It was imposed on January 31 amid a surge in Covid cases, reported PTI.

“Night Curfew is withdrawn/lifted from all urban areas of the State with effect from 18th February, 2022,” said the order issued by the Special Relief Commissioner’s Office.

“With a continuous decrease in the number of Covid cases in the state, the government decided to further relax the restrictions,” an official said.

Odisha reported 671 new Covid cases on Friday, taking the tally to 12,81,455. Among the new patients were 131 children.

The daily positivity rate was 1.14 per cent, while 15 more people died. Odisha has so far reported 8,976 deaths.