BALASORE: The Balasore administration on Monday declared a residential colony of Emami Paper Mills micro-containment zone after 101 staff of the company staying there tested positive for Covid-19 in last 48 hours.All those infected were working in Unit-2 of the paper mill and staying in the colony under Remuna police limits, informed chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dulalsen Jagatdeo.
District Covid-19 Medical Officer in charge Subhajit Giri said the Director (Operations) of the company who had come to the paper mill from West Bengal five days back was infected. Although he had held a meeting on the campus which was attended by other officials, the management had no knowledge about his health condition, Giri said.
“Besides, some of the staff of Unit-2 of Emami Paper Mills are natives of West Bengal and had visited the neighbouring state to cast their votes. They joined work recently and suffered from fever, cough and weakness”, he said. Subsequently on Saturday and Sunday, Covid tests of 110 employees were done and 101 were found positive.
The district in the last 24 hours reported 158 new cases of which 101 are from the colony. “The infected employees have been isolated at two halls and two rooms on the factory campus and their contact tracing is underway. Each room has the capacity to accommodate 15 persons and 50 persons can stay in each of the two halls”, the CDMO said.
The district administration has also sealed Unit-2 and the company’s Jagannath temple. Meanwhile, the CDMO further informed that the 100-bed Covid care centre at FM Medical College and Hospital which was closed earlier, will be reopened. Besides, Jyoti Hospital may be converted into Covid hospital if the cases rise.