BHUBANESWAR: Amid influx of migrant workers and others to the City, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has intensified its sample testing drive with a special focus on slums to check the spread of coronavirus.
Officials of the corporation said after scanning travel history of persons dwelling in slums, the health teams at zonal level have started carrying out random test of symptomatic cases. Around 1,700 samples have been collected from slums in South-East, South-West and North Zones of the City.
BMC has set up three testing facilities at Sikharchandi, Niladri Vihar and Loyola School for sample collection and testing in the North Zone where the total number of slums is 154, said Zonal Deputy Commissioner (ZDC) Pramod Kumar Prusty. “We have collected more than 800 samples for test from slum areas alone in our jurisdiction. Fortunately, all have turned negative,” he said.
Prusty said the sample collection facility at Loyola School collects samples from Salia Sahi and other nearby areas for test. A total of 50 samples were collected at the centre for test on Sunday.In South-East zone, 414 samples have been collected from slum areas, while random testing is also carried out on a regular basis to keep spread of the virus at bay, said ZDC Ansuman Rath.He said a permanent camp has been set up at Saheed Nagar kalyan mandap for collection of random samples and testing.
In South-West zone, samples have been collected from slums in two batches and transit camps are being organised in slum areas everyday for random testing, informed ZDC Rabi Narayan Jethy. He said 482 samples have been collected till date in the South-West zone which covers more than 40 slums.
Jethy said surveillance is carried out regularly to find out persons with travel history, persons who have returned from outside the State or district in the recent week and persons having symptoms.Though 50 Covid cases have been reported in the Capital so far, none of them are from any slum. However, risk of virus spread in slums is more due to poor practice of social distancing norms.