BHUBANESWAR: West Bengal seems to have become a cause of serious concern for the State Government as a third of COVID-19 positive cases are directly linked to it. Even as the State witnessed a surge in COVID cases on Monday, of the 13 persons who tested positive in the last 24 hours, 10, including five each from Jajpur and Bhadrak districts, have been found to be returnees from West Bengal. As high as 32 per cent of cases in Odisha have their origin in WB.
State chief spokesperson on COVID-19 Subroto Bagchi said it is a big worry for the Government as of 74 positive cases, 24 are related to the neighbouring state. “They have either returned from the state or have come in contact with the returnees. Collectors of the districts concerned have been asked to properly inquire into the cases and take immediate containment measures,” he said. If official sources are to be believed, the five of Jajpur were a part of six-member group that had travelled from Badabazaar in Howrah in a van on March 29 when the lockdown was in force.
Similarly, the other five of Bhadrak had returned from WB in another vehicle. They are among 132 persons who have been traced to have returned from WB and kept in institutional quarantine at their respective block headquarters. Most of the cases with origin from WB have been identified by panchayats that in turn informed the district administration and put them in quarantine.
“Since it is not possible for the State or district administration and police to keep watch on every village, panchayats are extremely important in detection of potential cases. Community based surveillance can help fight coronavirus,” Bagchi said. The State Government has urged all people with travel history to the neighbouring state during the last 28 days to inform local sarpanch, block development officer or tehsildar and quarantine themselves at home. Meanwhile, the border villagers have demanded the Government to intensify surveillance on the connecting routes to check movement of people from Bengal.