MALKANGIRI: With no let-up in cases in Malkangiri municipality and Balimela NAC, the district administration on Wednesday declared the two areas as buffer zones till August 20.
Both the towns were declared buffer zones to contain the spread of Covid-19, said Collector Manish Agarwal in a letter issued on the day. All shops and commercial activities will remain closed in the towns while essential services including medicine and grocery shops will be allowed to function from 7 am to 2 pm. The district reported 38 fresh cases including 26 from Malkangiri municipality area on the day.
Of the 26, 19 had come in contact with infected persons, three were referred from fever clinics and four detected during household survey. Of the seven cases detected in Balimela NAS, one had come in contact with an infected person, three referred from fever clinics and three found positive during household survey.
Of the two cases reported from Mathili block, one had returned from Telangana and the other detected during household survey. Besides, one case each was reported from Chitrakonda, Khairput and Kalimela blocks. With this the total number of cases in the district has gone up to 701 of which 433 have recovered.
Meanwhile, a 54-year-old man from the district, undergoing treatment at KIMS, Bhubaneswar died due to chronic kidney disease and uremic encephalopathy.