Pre-test likely for foreign returnees

Bhubaneswar: Following the Centre’s decision to evacuate Indians stuck abroad, the Odisha government is likely to come up with a set of guidelines before allowing Odias to enter the state.
While there’s no clarity on the number of people set to return to Odisha from the Gulf and other countries, the state government wants them to undergo mandatory registration as well Covid-19 testing and quarantine before entering Odisha.
“We have recently received a standard operating procedure (SOP) from the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), which is being examined by the state government. Based on the MHA guidelines, we will issue guidelines for the state,” said a senior government official. The issue was recently discussed during a high-level meeting chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
The state government may request the Centre to test all foreign returnees before they reach Odisha. Several Odias are expected to return from some of the worst-affected countries like Italy, USA, UK and Canada. Many people from Kendrapada, Ganjam, Khurda and other coastal districts, who were engaged in blue-collar jobs in the Gulf countries, are also likely to return as part of the Centre’s evacuation plan.
Odisha government had earlier made registration and 14-day home quarantine mandatory for all who returned to the state from abroad after March 3 midnight. A portal was developed for registration of such returnees while financial incentive was also announced on successful completion of home isolation.
Nearly, 4,500 Odias who returned to the state after March 3 midnight from abroad, including chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s sister Gita Mehta, Puri king Dibyasingha Deb and his family and a senior bureaucrat had registered with the state government portal.
Initially, many Covid-19 positive cases in Bhubaneswar, Bhadrak and Kalahandi had foreign travel history.