BHUBANESWAR: As migrant returnees have started to arrive in Odisha in huge numbers, the State Government has arranged around 5 lakh beds to provide medical facilities and put them in mandatory 14-day quarantine. Principal Secretary in Panchayatiraj department DK Singh told mediapersons on Tuesday that about 12,000 temporary medical camps have been readied in 6,798 panchayats with all basic facilities. Sanitation and cleanliness have been the priority at these camps, he said and added, the migrants are being provided quality food as per the menu chart. Personal protective equipments (PPEs) are used by health workers and other service providers working in these centres, he said.
Chief spokesperson on Covid-19, Subroto Bagchi said 35,540 migrants have so far returned to the State by train, bus and other vehicles. He said 7,451 Odia people returned to the State on Wednesday.Stating that quarantine for 14 days is compulsory for the returnees, Bagchi said for urban areas, home quarantine is the preferred option. Wherever home quarantine is not feasible, institutional quarantine will be arranged by urban local bodies, he said and added that returnees may also opt for paid quarantine in a hotel/lodge identified for the purpose.
Bagchi maintained that institutional quarantine is mandatory for the returnees in rural areas. The quarantine authorities for rural area will, however, allow home quarantine in case of pregnant and lactating women, children, students, professionals, transgenders and physically and mentally challenged persons.
However, if home quarantine is not feasible for these categories, they will be provided with special facilities as per an order issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management department.