ROURKELA: Two senior doctors of Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) and six under-trial prisoners (UTPs) of the special jail here were among the 18 who tested positive for COVID-19 in Sundargarh district on Saturday night.

The biggest single-day spike took the tally to 99 positive cases in the district. Sundargarh now has 43 active cases after recovery of 56 coronavirus patients.

The spread of coronavirus in RGH and in the prison has become a cause of worry for the district administration. An RGH official informed that the affected doctors, who hold senior administrative posts, were asymptomatic and have been put in home isolation. They are suspected to have contracted the virus from some undiagnosed infected person during medical duty.  

On Sunday, the administration conducted swab test of more than 100 RGH employees including many doctors. While 80 samples tested negative, report of the rest 20 is awaited.

A jail official said the six positive UTPs have been shifted to a separate cell. Swab samples of 31 UTPs and 19 jail employees were collected three days back.

The affected UTPs are among the 31 accused persons sent to jail on June 2 for their involvement in the violent protest in the Rourkela main road area demanding lifting of containment tag a fortnight back.

The UTPs belong to a particular ghetto in the area that has reported 12 positive cases since the containment zone tag was lifted on May 30. Since April 26, the troubled area has reported 34 cases.   

Swab samples of policemen who escorted or came in contact with the 31 arrested persons have been collected.

Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan said besides the RGH doctors and UTPs, two new positive cases, both in home quarantine, were detected from Kalunga and Nuagaon while the rest were found in quarantine centres at Lathikata, Bargaon and Balishankara blocks, Birmitrapur town and Hi-Tech COVID-19 hospital at Rourkela.

The steep surge in cases has left the administration worried over the spread of coronavirus in areas under Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) limits. On June 4, the Collector had assigned the task of contact tracing of positive cases to two OAS and one ORS officers. The RMC Commissioner and ADM were asked to ensure smooth management of the task. Panposh Sub-Collector was directed to coordinate with the Commissioner and ADM.

The RGH and jail premises were sanitised. Official sources said contact tracing of the new patients is underway.