33 fresh cases in Covid hotspot Katapali
BARGARH: Katapali village, the Covid-19 hotspot of Bargarh district, reported another 33 positive cases on Monday. Of the new cases, 16 are male and 17 females. With this, the total number of Covid-19 cases rose to 105 including one death in Katapali, located on the outskirts of Bargarh town. Eight of the new patients are above the age of 60.
Katapali was declared a containment zone after the first positive case was detected in the village on June 16. A 76-year-old retired teacher of the village, who died of Covid-19 on June 18, was found to be the reason for the spread of infection in Katapali. The man had tested positive on June 16. A diabetic, he was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bargarh when he was found infected with coronavirus.
Sources said the man was involved in money lending and had visited Nalichuan and Sulsuila villages which reported positive cases earlier. The man might have got infected during his visit to these villages. He had passed on the virus to his wife, son and granddaughter. Others in the village might also have contracted the virus from him as he was roaming freely in the village and came in contact with many people before testing positive.
So far, 1,397 swab samples have been collected from the village which has a population of 5,205.
Bargarh Collector Jyotiranjan Pradhan appealed to the villagers not to venture out of the containment zone and follow all the Covid-19 guidelines laid down by the Government strictly to contain the virus. He also requested them to cooperate with health staff during collection of swab samples for testing.
Meanwhile, all the new infected patients have been admitted to the Covid care facility at Bargarh. With the fresh cases, the total number of infected persons in the district increased to 166 including one death. Of the 166 positive cases, 98 are active and the rest have recovered.