BHUBANESWAR: With enforcement against violation of COVID-19 protocols gone missing, resurgence of the virus due to blatant disregard to all safety norms in the Capital city now looks a distinct possibility.
Even as number of active cases in Bhubaneswar stood at 92 on Thursday, lax monitoring and precautionary measures could usher in a Maharashtra-like situation anytime soon, health experts have warned.
While people continue to let their guard down against coronavirus, the officials of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) admitted to their leniency in carrying out enforcement.
Even as violations of COVID-19 norms like wearing masks and maintaining social distance are rampant, the civic body is not taking corrective steps.
An official entrusted with managing COVID-19 situation, requesting anonymity, said though the enforcement teams are discouraging people from unnecessarily crowding markets and other public places, no one is fined anymore.
In blatant disregard to safety norms, people continue to gather in city malls and markets without masks.
Most have also done away with maintaining a safe distance of six feet from each other. Hotels and Kalyan mandaps allowing marriage functions or any other social function are also failing to ensure these basic safety protocols in the absence of any enforcement. There is no fear of the law.
Amid detection of cluster outbreak in Bengaluru with 100 positive cases in a residential apartment and surge in daily cases in Maharashtra, there is fear of a possible surge in cases in the Capital city. Meanwhile, the number of daily tests in the city has also drastically come down to below 500.
“The average tests continue to remain between 400 and 500 for the last several days,” said an official of the Corporation and added that steps regarding enforcement will be taken only after receiving necessary instruction from the competent authority.