Bhubaneswar, Sept. 30 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has lauded the Odisha Government's effective governance and community-based strategies in the fight against COVID-19.

The UN agency has highlighted the early containment measures, dedicated COVID hospitals, ramped up testing and decentralised management of the pandemic through gram panchayats in the state.

The state was the first in the country to initiate strict measures. The Chief Minister ordered an immediate closure of many public places on March 13, even though the state had not reported a single case of COVID-19. When the first case was reported on March 15, the state control rooms had been made operational; and capacity building of the district level health officials on...