Odisha exempts 7-day quarantine for RRB candidates from high-risk states

In a major relief for

candidates appearing in the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) examinations, the Odisha government on Tuesday announced relaxation of the mandatory 7-day home quarantine norms for people coming from five high-risk states, officials said.

Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, P K Mohapatra in a letter to all district collectors and municipal commissioners said: "A person establishing his/her identity with a copy of the RRB examination admit card will be exempted from the home quarantine requirement, but strict COVID appropriate behaviour should be adhered to by all candidates appearing in the examination."

The state government's decision to relax the norms came after the Chairman of Railway Recruitment Board, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh informed that around 10,500 candidates are scheduled to appear for examinations at Bhubaneswar from March 3 to March 31. The admit cards for the candidates have been issued much earlier, the RRB said.

Mohapatra said that keeping in view the RRB's concern, the state government has decided that the home quarantine norms will not be applicable for the candidates coming from high risk states.

Earlier, keeping in view the upsurge of COVID-19 cases in some states, Odisha government had issued directions to district authorities to ensure that people arriving from the five high-risk states - Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - complete the seven-day home isolation upon their arrival.

The asymptomatic passengers with RT-PCR negative report or a Covid vaccination final certificate were exempted from the home isolation.