Bhubaneswar, July 31: The Odisha government on Friday announced a weekend shutdown in four districts and Rourkela city till August 31 in the wake of a spurt in COVID- 19 cases, officials said. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said the shutdown will be imposed in Ganjam, Khurda, Gajapati and Cuttack districts and Rourkela city on Saturdays and Sundays. Also Read | Chhattisgarh Reports 336 New COVID-19 Positive Cases, 3 Deaths Today: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on July 31, 2020.

However, on August 1 and 2, the shutdown will be imposed from 1 pm to 9 pm and normal activities will be allowed from 5 am to 1 pm, he said. The state government has also decided to continue night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am across the state in August, Jena said. Also Read | Muslim Women's Rights Day 2020: Muslim Women Thank Narendra Modi Government on 1st Anniversary of Abolition of Triple Talaq.

A complete lockdown will be imposed in the containment zones till August 31 and no one will be allowed to enter or exit these areas, he said. Places of worship and cinema halls will remain closed till August 31. Teaching will not be permitted in educational institutes but examinations and administrative work can be conducted, the SRC said.

Yoga centres and gymnasiums in the state can operate from August 5 onwards in accordance with the standard operating procedure laid down by the Centre, he said. Social, political and cultural programmes will be prohibited in August, Jena said.

Government offices can operate with 50 per cent staff and private establishments can function with a reduced workforce, while work from home will be encouraged, he said. Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said the government has decided to hike penalties for violation of safety measures like wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing and restrictions on congregations.

"We have to reopen further to normalise economic activities. But no congregation will be allowed and COVID-19 guidelines will have to be strictly followed in closed areas like factories and offices," he said. For the first and second-time offences of not wearing masks in public places, a fine of Rs 1,000 will be imposed on violators and a penalty of Rs 5,000 will be slapped for subsequent offences, he said.

The penalty amount was Rs 500 for the first-time offence and Rs 1,000 for the subsequent ones. Violation of social distancing norms during marriage ceremonies and in commercial establishments will attract a fine of Rs 10,000. The venue will be sealed for a first-time violation and for a month for the subsequent ones, the official said.

No more than 10 people will be allowed to congregate anywhere and a fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed on violators, he said. Shopkeepers found violating social distancing norms will also be slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 and their shops will be sealed, Tripathy said.

The chief secretary said COVID-19 positivity rate is declining in hotspot districts like Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur and Cuttack. The mortality rate among COVID-19 patients in the state is the lowest in the country while the discharge rate is also improving, he said.

"It is still premature to predict anything as of now as COVID-19 is a new disease. However, these are encouraging signs," Tripathy said. He said 90 per cent of the people abide by COVID-19 guidelines and the remaining 10 per cent pose a serious threat to public health.

“There was actually a lot of fear ... about going back into an unknown environment and trying to think of a way of getting them through that, out of their houses into grounds safely,” Calder said. “There is no way we could make it safe and we had to be very, very explicit about that. And all you can do is try and reduce the risk and make a very safe environment at work.”

Premier League players and other club staff have required twice weekly testing for the coronavirus. Of 2,208 tests last week, there were no positive cases. “The prevalence of the disease has gone much further down and we've now got to review the whole structure,” Calder said.

“We will have to change the testing regime and I would hope that at some stage we won't need to test. But I think initially we've got to continue testing to a certain extent. “How that goes we're taking advice from the government experts and the virologists and the world experts. But ultimately, I think in next season we may start off with once or twice a week initially with the testing and then review as we go through the season.”

One way players can avoid being infected while away from their clubs is taking preventative measures during the brief offseason break in August. “When you when you're away, just keep your social distancing — don't let your guard down,” Calder said.

“You probably want to choose the place you go to carefully. The United States of America and Brazil and South America are difficult places ... I'd avoid States and South America at the moment and India and Pakistan.”

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)