Coronavirus | Mandatory tests, 14-day quarantine for Kumbh Mela returnees in Odisha

ASHA and Anganwadi Workers will regularly visit the symptomatic returnees at home or TMCs to monitor their health conditions.

The Odisha government on Saturday said all returnees from the Kumbh Mela will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period, apart from RT-PCR tests before setting foot in the state, in an effort to rein in the spread of COVID-19.

The quarantine can be completed at home or temporary medical camps (TMC), Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said in an order.

Mr. Jena said the list of people, who got themselves registered with the Uttarakhand government for participating in Kumbh Mela, has been shared with collectors and municipal commissioners to ascertain their location and travel plans.

“All such persons must be personally tracked, their health condition monitored. They must be compulsorily RT-PCR tested,” the order said.

ASHA and Anganwadi Workers will regularly visit the symptomatic returnees at home or TMCs to monitor their health conditions, it added.

The ongoing Kumbh Mela has been at the centre of controversy amid fears that it could be a superspreader event, with lakhs of devotees attending it as the second wave of the coronavirus surges uncontrollably.