The Odisha government has made home isolation for seven days mandatory for people coming from five States and set up a strict screening mechanism at airports and railway stations.
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All Collectors and civic body heads have been asked to keep a close tab on people coming from Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where there has been a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Even as the government is returning to stricter surveillance, 25 students of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, have tested positive for COVID-19 during the past 48 hours.
P. K. Mohapatra, Additional Chief Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) said any laxity could result in a resurgence of the pandemic in the State and ruin all the efforts of the State over the past months.
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Apart from screening of passengers from five States at the point of arrival, on-site rapid antigen testing of all the symptomatic passengers has to be ensured, said Mr. Mohapatra.
“All the incoming passengers will remain under mandatory home isolation for seven days. If during this period they develop any symptoms they will be subjected to the RT-PCR test. If found positive in RT-PCR test, they will be treated as per the COVID treatment protocol,” he said.
Meanwhile, the VSSUT administration has said that the students who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been kept isolated. Only online classes would be conducted.
Odisha’s COVID-19 overall tally increased to 3,37,104 with 86 persons testing positive on Saturday. The COVID-19 death toll the State remained below 2,000.
Fresh guidelines for surveillance, containment and caution with regard to pandemic for the month of March would be put in place. The government said large gatherings should take place only in a regulated manner.