Bhubaneswar, March 13 -- Bhubaneswar: In view of the rapid spread of deadly coronavirus in the country, Odisha government on Friday ordered that all cinema halls and educational institutions including schools and colleges will be closed till March 31, 2020. The government also announced shutting down of all the public swimming pools in the State till March 31 in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Following the State Cabinet meeting this morning, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared COVID-19 as a 'disaster' for the State under the provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005 to adequately empower our public officials to combat the spread of COVID-19. An amount of Rs 200 crore has been earmarked to augment the Public Health Response Fund ...