Covid-19 tally in Odisha reaches 287 with 7 fresh cases

Official source said during the day 17 Covid positive cases, all males, were detected in Odisha.While all the 16 cases were from Surat returnee, one case was reported from the containment zone in Rourkela.

Among the 17 new cases,12 reported from Ganjam district, taking the total Covid positive case in the district to 83, highest in the state.

Mayurbhanj reported three more cases and one person , also a Surat returnee, tested positive in Bhadrak district. Another positive case was found from containment zone in Rourkela in Sundargarh district.

Odisha government has deputed three IAS officers to Ganjam district to help the district administration managing COVID19 situation in the district. The three senior IAS officers will stay for one month in Ganjam district, emerged as a hot spot for coronavirus and already declared as Red Zone.

Out of 56,322 covid tests conducted so far in the State, 287 have been detected COVID-19 cases of which 63 are already recovered and 222 active cases undergoing treatment in Covid hospitals. The death figure remained 2 till date.

The coronavirus has so far spread to 18 districts and Ganjam has topped the list with 83 positive cases followed by Jajpur( 55),Khordha( 50),Balsore(27), Bhadrak (25) and Sundargarh (13).

The covid positive cases in the coming days are likely to jump as over 45,000 people stranded outside the state due to outbreak of Coronavirus and lockdown, have already arrived in the state.

A majority of them have arrived in Ganjam district from Surat in Gujarat. The state government expected over five lakhs migrants workers to arrive Odisha in the coming days from various states.

Sources said a majority of West Bengal and Surat returnees in the state reported coronavirus. The West Bengal returnees were tested positive mostly in Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore districts.

These three districts,already declared as Red Zone together have so far tested 107 positive cases.

On the other hand, the Surat returnees, affected with Corona virus, were found in as many as seven districts in the state.The Ganjam district alone accounted for as high as 83 positive cases.

The state government has made 28 days quarantine mandatory for all the returnees to the state.While they would stay 21 days in institutional quarantine in the Temporary Medical camps set up at Panchyat level, the rest seven days will be in home quarantine.

With the number of positive cases rising in the recent days from the institutional quarantine centres, the state government has clamped section 144 CrPc near the quarantine centre and warned stringent action including arrest if anybody found violating the quarantine guidelines. 

Image: UNI