BHUBANESWAR: Contact tracing of the positive case reported from Salia Sahi - Capital’s biggest slum - has left officials of Health department and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) at their wit’s end. The pregnant lady, a Gujarat returnee, was tested positive during her delivery.
However, BMC officials said that her source of infection is yet to be known. The woman had completed quarantine period after her return from Ahmedabad in the third week of March and tested negative. Her husband and father-in-law have also tested negative.
While all neighbours of the family have been put in home quarantine and will be under active surveillance for next 14 days, the administration has hit a dead end to trace the source. Of the 13 new cases reported in the city on Friday, six were locals. Although BMC official said the other five returned from Bhadrak and Ganjam, they failed to give details about their direct or secondary link.
A former corporator of Ward no 20 said some returned to the slum without registering themselves with the government portal. Some had even misbehaved with the ASHA workers when the latter were collecting information and asked one person to stay in quarantine facility after his return from another district, he informed.
The increasing number of local cases has emerged as a new challenge raising questions on the effectiveness of monitoring and surveillance mechanism. Municipal Commissioner Prem Chaudhury could not be reached for his comment. However, Deputy Commissioner Subhendu Sahu said active surveillance has been expedited in the affected areas and neighbours of the affected persons put under home quarantine.
BMC Zonal Deputy Commissioner Pramod Prusty said contact tracing is in progress to find the source of infected cases. People in the slum are cooperating with the civic body during active surveillance, sample collection and sanitization, he added.