Cyclone Yaas: Covid fear makes people wary of shifting to cyclone shelters in Odisha

Many people in the coastal districts of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur are reluctant to move to government shelters as they are scared of catching coronavirus, an official said.

With the Odisha government launching a massive evacuation drive to save people from the fury of Cyclone Yaas, many people in the coastal districts of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur are reluctant to move to government shelters as they are scared of catching coronavirus, an official said. It is an enormous challenge for safeguarding people this time amid the raging pandemic, the official said. "Maintaining social distancing norms while carrying out evacuation has become an uphill task. Still, we are trying to convince the people not to take chances and shift to cyclone shelters and pucca houses," said the official who is monitoring evacuation work in the Erasama block of Jagatsinghpur district.