CUTTACK: Even as Odisha government has made home isolation for seven days mandatory for people coming from high risk states and set up a strict screening mechanism at airports and railway stations, the district administration and the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) seem to have completely abdicated their responsibility.
Neither the administration nor CMC has any information on people coming from Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where there has been aan alarming surge in Covid-19 cases.
The 24x7 screening centre at Cuttack railway station seems to be for namesake only. Though more than 1,500 people have come to Cuttack in trains from different states during the last four days, the screening centre at the railway station has no information on their number, name, address or health status. As a result, people coming from these states to Cuttack are freely moving around and raising the risk of coronavirus resurgence in the district.
“This is a serious issue. The possibility carrying the coronavirus with them can’t be ruled out. The CMC and district administration have completely failed in their responsibilities which can blow up into a serious situation again. The authorities should be held accountable by the State government,” said a local resident and demanded stricter surveillance on returnees.
Chief District Medical and Public Health Officer Satyabrat Chhotray also expressed concern and said instructions have been given to screen all passengers coming from the high risk states to the district at Cuttack railway station.
As many as eight positive cases were detected on Tuesday. While three cases were reported from the city, the rest five cases were from different parts of the district. Till date, 29,133 persons have been infected by coronavirus in the district while the virus has claimed 133 lives.