Six Odisha villages sealed after man tests COVID-19 positive

BHAWANIPATNA: The Kalahandi administration on Saturday sealed Beharaguda village under Khamarhaladi panchayat after a man tested positive for coronavirus. The 29-year-old man had returned from Bahrain on March 22 and registered himself on the helpline 104. He was asymptomatic and under home quarantine.He has been shifted to Ashwini Hospital at Cuttack for treatment. Collector Harshad Parag Gavali said the man had come in contact with 31 persons and their contact tracing is underway. All the 31 persons have been kept under home isolation and their swab and blood samples would be sent for test to RMRC at Bhubaneswar.

The Collector said Beheraguda and five other villages under the panchayat have been sealed and people asked not to venture out. The administration has opened a 200-bed Covid-19 unit at the Government Engineering College at Singhjharan near Bhawanipatna town. Initially, it will be used as a quarantine facility and later converted into a hospital if required. According to Health Department, seven persons of Kalahandi had returned to the district from foreign countries. Of the seven samples sent for text, one was found positive. Meanwhile, five of the inter-state border points passing through the district have been sealed.