Patients made to wait for days to get hospital care in Odisha's Ganjam

BERHAMPUR: As the Covid-19 situation spirals out of control in Ganjam, shocking indifference of the administration towards providing care to infected persons has come to the fore in the district.

Call it lack of care or negligence, the administration shifted 10 infected persons of Chikitipentha in Chikiti block to Covid hospital two days after they tested positive for Covid- 19.

On July 8, these 10 persons were detected with the virus and accordingly, the authorities informed them to get ready for admission to the nearby Covid hospital.

However, the vehicle to shift them to the hospital arrived on Friday morning, nearly 50 hours after they were found positive.

All this while, these infected persons had to remain in isolation in their respective homes. As fear of the virus spread gripped the area, their neighbours and other residents of the locality were forced to stay behind closed doors for two days.

Chikitipentha, earlier a containment zone, had been barricaded to restrict movement of residents. However, the barricades were removed by the local administration on Thursday for unknown reasons, paving way for free movement of traffic in the area.

This move came under sharp criticism from locals who now apprehend that the virus may spread to nearby areas.

In a similar incident, four persons of a family at Kalupatra street in Berhampur had tested positive for Covid-19 four days back.

But the ambulance reached their home on the day to shift them to the Covid hospital. The infected persons initially refused to board the ambulance.

However, they changed their mind after locals persuaded them. After more than an hour, they boarded the ambulance.

Meanwhile, residents of Nuapada village, a containment zone, are fuming as Chikiti block administration turned a blind eye to violation of Covid- 19 protocol for funerals.

Sources said an elderly man died on Thursday following which villagers made arrangements for funeral and waited for his two sons to arrive from Bhubaneswar.

The duo returned with three of their friends, all wearing PPE suits.

When villagers saw them in protective gear, they refused to participate in the funeral suspecting that the man may have died due to Covid- 19.

After cremating the body, the five dumped their PPE suits at the graveyard and drove away.

The panicked locals informed the matter to Tehsildar Haraprasad Bhoi who assured them of taking necessary action.

If a person suspected to be affected by coronavirus dies in a containment zone, he said, local authorities should be informed.

Besides, PPE suits should be properly disposed of after funeral. But in this case, the protocols were violated.