JAJPUR: Four more COVID-19 positive cases were reported on Thursday taking the total number of infected persons in the district to 12. Of the four new patients, three are females aged 48, 70, and 80 years and a 21-year-old male. All of them, of Jajpur and Dasarathapur blocks, are family members of two West Bengal returnees who had tested positive earlier.

Jajpur Collector Ranjan Kumar Das said the four persons are family members of two patients who had tested positive on April 20. They had been kept in institutional quarantine since April 20. The patients are undergoing treatment at the designated COVID hospital in Duburi.

Of the total 12 positive cases, 11 are active and one has recovered. Das said more than 700 persons have returned to the district from West Bengal since the nationwide lockdown was enforced. Most of the returnees claimed that they observed home isolation for two weeks but in reality, they did not follow the quarantine norms.

“We have engaged Asha and Anganwadi workers to conduct door-to-door survey of West Bengal returnees and submit a report to the district administration. We will put all the returnees in institutional quarantine for 14 days and collect swab samples from them for test,” the Collector said.