Quarantine stamps for all returnees to Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Thursday decided to stamp returnees from outside Odisha with indelible ink to plug the loopholes and ensure that all such persons are quarantined. The Government will also request the Centre to get migrant workers stranded in other States tested for COVID-19 before they are allowed to return to Odisha after the lockdown. “Tomorrow, I will have a video conferencing with Union Health Minster Dr Harsh Vardhan on this matter.

I have already proposed this to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Screening and testing of migrant workers before their return will help State Governments in taking follow-up action,” Health Minister Naba Kumar Das said. Meanwhile, as the State started preparatory work for the homecoming of a large number of people, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said that the Panchayati Raj department will designate a nodal officer for each gram panchayat for mandatory registration of returnees.

The Housing and Urban Development (H &UD) department will also identify a nodal officer per single or a cluster of wards in towns and cities. The gram panchayats and urban local bodies (ULBs) may also register the names of such people on getting information from appropriate sources. A web portal an online application system will be developed for registration of returnees at both rural and urban level. 

The website will have the names and telephone numbers of such officers for prospective applicants to contact for a smooth and hassle-free registration. The H &UD department can also make arrangements in coordination with hotels for quarantine of people, who want to avail such facility on payment basis. In urban areas where persons are allowed home quarantine, a sticker will be affixed in their house. Such persons will be closely monitored to ensure that they follow the quarantine guidelines in letter and spirit, Jena said.

The Panchayati Raj department will issue detailed guidelines and directions to sarpanchs and ULB authorities to make necessary arrangements for quarantine including accommodation, food, water, bathing facility, sanitation and treatment. The expenditure on such provisions will be met out of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).