CUTTACK: A 22-year-old youth of Brahmapura under Banki block tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. A close associate of Sarpanch Sanjay Kumar Sahu, he used assist the latter in management of quarantine centre. Though he did not show any signs of coronavirus, a cautious Sarpanch requested for his swab test following which a sample was drawn on Saturday at the Temporary Medical Camp (TMC) set up on the premises of Raghunath Debata Bidyapitha.
He tested positive for Covid on Tuesday. He is feared to have left behind a long trail of contacts as he is reported to have visited different public places including bank, block office, police station, local hospital besides other places in the panchayat while assisting the Sarpanch in Covid duty. Meanwhile, the district administration declared the entire panchayat as containment zone.
“The areas required detailed measures for a comprehensive contact tracing. To facilitate this, it was necessary to restrict public from entering into and going out of the containment zone,” stated an order released from office of the Collector and District Magistrate, Cuttack. The residents of the zone have been directed to strictly remain at home while supply of essentials and medical requirements to the area would be ensured by Banki BDO.
Banki Sub Collector Ranjan Kumar Jena, BDO Prabhat Kumar Sahu, SDPO Prasanna Kumar Biswal and IIC Samir Kumar Panda reached the panchayat along with police force and sealed all the 16 Wards. While the patient has been shifted to Ashwini Covid Hospital and the Sarpanch is in institutional quarantine at Ragunath Debata Bidyapitha TMC, the health officials have started tracing the youth’s contacts in around the panchayat, a health official informed. “We suspect that he might have come in contact with a Covid patient while assisting in management of quarantine centre,” said the health official.