Odisha govt announces Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra this year amid COVID-19 restrictions

Last year, the Supreme Court had allowed the yatra and had said that each Rath or chariot would be pulled by no more than 500 people and all of them have to be tested for coronavirus. It had also directed that those engaged in pulling chariot shall maintain social distancing before, during, and after the Rath Yatra.

Odisha's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 8,37,226 on Thursday as 6,097 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said. Forty-four fresh fatalities pushed the coronavirus death toll in the state to 3,167, he said.

At least 8,032 people were cured of the disease on Wednesday, taking the total number of recoveries to 7,64,673. Odisha now has 69,333 active cases, he said.