COVID-19: Odisha COVID-19 positive cases shoot up

No need for panic as most coronavirus cases are detected in quarantine centres: Official

Migrants undergo thermal screening after arriving from Kerala’s Ernakulam Railway Station by a special train at Jagannathpur Railway Station, in Ganjam district on May 03, 2020.

Odisha reported 83 COVID-19 positive cases taking the count to 377 on Sunday — the biggest single day jump for the State so far.

Of the 83 cases, 36 were reported from Ganjam district followed by Balasore and Angul with 15 and 15 each. Bhadrak (6) and Jajpur (5) were among the other districts.

With 125 positive cases Ganjam is leading the table. Angul and Boudh lost their green zone status by reporting cases for the first time. Three new cases were reported from Boudh.

Government sources said the majority of 83 persons who tested positive had returned from Surat , a virus hotspot.

Coronavirus, May 10 updates | State Helpline numbers for COVID-19

Balasore had 10 of the 15 cases linked to the neighbouring West Bengal while the other five persons had come from Karnataka.

A matter of concern is one person in Angul district is a local without any travel history. The district administration is aggressively carrying out contact-tracing of the person. Now, the infection has been reported in 20 of the 30 districts.

Stating that there had been an increase in the number of positive cases in the last few days, State’s chief spokesperson Subroto Bagchi said there was no reason to panic as these cases had been mostly detected in the quarantine centres.

As per the government protocol, all returnees from other States are being directly taken to the quarantine centres where they have to spend the mandatory 21 days of quarantine period before undergoing home quarantine for another week.

A seven-member team led by the Director Health Services, with representatives from WHO and ICMR RMRC, was being sent to Ganjam for strengthening the containment, surveillance and medical response following the sharp rise in cases.

Three Shramik specials arrived in Odisha on Sunday. Workers got down at Titlagarh station in Balangir district, Jagannathpur in Ganjam and Khurda Road in Khordha district.