CUTTACK: The Cuttack administration appears to have turned a blind eye to violations of safety protocols during funerals of Covid-19 victims in the district. A 52-year-old man of Bindhanima Paika Sahi in Tigiria block who suffered from cold, cough and fever had visited a private hospital in Cuttack on August 12. He underwent Covid test and was found negative for coronavirus. As his condition deteriorated, the patient was admitted to a private hospital at Bhubaneswar where he succumbed on August 15. During his admission, his swab sample was collected for test. However, the private hospital authorities handed over the body to his family members. They then brought the body to Bindhanima Paika Sahi and cremated it in presence of relatives.
However, the local health officials received the second Covid test report on August 17 which was positive. Following this, the local administration decided to shut down the entire gram panchayat for 72 hours from 6 am on Tuesday besides, declaring the Wards 7, 8 and 9 of Bindhanima Paika Sahi as containment zone. Health officials are now facing a tough task in contact tracing as more than 100 people participated in cremation of the patient who was leader of a construction workers’ association.
Similarly, a 58-year-old man of Naya Sarak in Cuttack city, who in home quarantine after testing positive, succumbed on August 15. Instead of informing the CMC, the family cremated the body at Khannagar crematorium flouting the protocols.
What raised concern is that neither local ward committee nor the puja committee members brought the matter to the notice of CMC while family members were making arrangement for cremation. Later, a neighbour of the victim informed the CMC about it. On Tuesday, the ward officer filed a complaint against family members of the deceased at the Purighat police station. However, police refused to accept it on the ground that the ward officer was not the competent authority to file a complaint.