Odisha plans strict containment rules

BHUBANESWAR:  Perturbed over non-adherance of quarantine protocols in containment zones leading to spike in Covid-19 cases, Odisha Government has directed Collectors, Municipal Commissioners and Chief District Medical and Public Health Officers to follow intensive surveillance mechanism and ensure 100 per cent coverage of Aarogya Setu App among the residents of the zone.

As the residents in such zones need to maintain maximum precaution, except for medical emergencies and maintaining supply of essential goods and services, there should be no movement of people in or out of the area demarcated by the administration. Principal Secretary, Health department, Nikunja Bihari Dhal has instructed district authorities to go for clinical management of all cases as per protocol besides counselling and educating people by adopting an effective communication strategy.

As decided, the containment measures in each zone will be closely monitored by a team of officials consisting of Collector or Municipal Commissioner, SP or DCP, CDM&PHO, district surveillance officer, District Social Welfare Officer and faculty deputed from the medical colleges or RMRC or WHO representative. The team will monitor total cases and active cases, calculate doubling rate on a weekly basis, case contact ratio - total number of contacts/total number of confirmed cases, calculate testing ratio, case fatality rate and analyse bed occupancy.

Dhal has also suggested several remedial measures for containment zones with high doubling rate for addressing issues like poor social distancing, ineffective contact tracing and non adherance of isolation guidelines. While BDO/Tehsildar of the area concerned has been asked to make surprise visits to verify whether perimeter control and social distancing are being followed, health staff will ensure rigorous contact tracing and active case search.

Returnees from Surat and WB test positive
Bhubaneswar: Seven more persons, including six returnees from West Bengal and Surat tested positive for Covid-19 in the State taking the total number of cases to 176 on Tuesday. The new cases have been reported from five districts. While three are from Balasore, one each has been detected in Ganjam, Cuttack, Sundargarh and Jajpur. Over a month after the first case, Cuttack district has reported one more Covid case.

The 34-year-old man of Tigiria had recently returned from Surat in a bus. Sources said he was part of 56 migrant workers who had returned from Surat in a reserved bus on May 3. Tigiria block administration received 30 persons of the area and arranged to keep them in a government quarantine centre. The rest 26 were de-boarded at Narasinghapur. The migrants got down at Tigiria block office and were taken to Tinigada Bidyapitha quarantine centre in Achalkot panchayat where their samples were collected for test. After the youth was found positive, the administration has sealed the entire school premises.

He has been shifted to Aswini Covid Hospital in Cuttack. The three positive cases from Balasore included two women, aged 40 and 50 and a 26-year-old man. While two among them had returned from West Bengal, the district administration is tracing the travel history of the other one. While the 18-year-old from Ganjam found positive is also a Surat returnee, 49-year-old man from Rourkela and 58-year-old from Jajpur had returned from Kolkata. They were asymptomatic and in quarantine. 

Tension over WB returnees
Bhubaneswar: Badagada Brit Colony residents on Tuesday staged a protest on the road after a family returned from West Bengal in their private vehicle. “Eight members of a family returned from West Bengal and two of them left for Pipili on the day. They have registered themselves with State Government’s Covid-19 portal and will stay in home quarantine for 14 days,” said a police officer of Badagada police station.