Bhubaneswar: Of the total students registered for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) 2020 in Odisha, 88 % per cent of them appeared in the exam held yesterday amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.A total of 37,198 aspirants from the state had registered with the National Testing Agency (NTA) to appear in the exam. However, 32,833 candidates (88.27 %) turned up for the exam while 4365 students remained absent.The national-level entrance was conducted at 83 examination centres in seven cities/towns in the state-Angul, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Cuttack, Rourkela and Sambalpur.In Bhubaneswar , the NTA had allotted 31 exam centres. Of the 15,393 registered candidates, 13,421 turn up for the test in the state capital. Similarly, 1205 out of 1107 allotted candidates gave the exam in Angul, 3506 out of 3947 in Berhampur, 3449 out of 3837 in Balasore, 5265 out of 5949 in Cuttack, 1766 out of 1965 in Rourkela and 4319 out of total 4908 candidates in Sambalpur, said the NTA.The examination was conducted in two sittings from 11 AM to 5 PM with strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines. Candidates underwent thermal screening before entering into examination hall. Social distancing, wearing of mask and other norms were strictly followed at the exam centres.RTOs across the state had made free transportation arrangements of the aspirants and their guardians/parents as per the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.