BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government removed the night curfew imposed in all metropolitan areas of the state on Friday, citing a drop in daily Covid-19 instances over the past several days.

"Night curfew is withdrawn or lifted from all urban areas of the state from February 18," Odisha Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Jena said in an order. Jena explained that the decision was made because the number of daily Covid cases in the state, as well as the number of active cases, has been steadily decreasing.

The government had imposed a night curfew in all urban districts of the state from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day in its February guidelines. The state recorded 671 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, after the number of cases had surpassed 11,000 just a month before. In Odisha, daily cases have remained below 1,000 for the seventh day in a row.

The state's entire active caseload today stands at 7,855. Except for Khordha district, which includes the capital city of Bhubaneswar, all 29 districts of Odisha have been placed in the 'green category,' as the number of active cases has remained below 1,000.

According to a state government official, there are 1,446 active Covid-19 cases in Khordha, which has been placed in the 'yellow category.'

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