BERHAMPUR: While Ganjam battles a surge in COVID-19 cases following return of migrant workers from the country’s hotspots, death of two persons on Saturday night has rung alarm bells. However, one of the deceased has been found to be COVID-negative.
The district has recorded two deaths among total 292 cases so far with the first being a Surat returnee housed at a quarantine centre in Dhunkapada on April 30. The second victim had also arrived from Surat on May 4 and put up at Brahmachari quarantine centre in Seragada block. His swab sample was collected on May 8. He was shifted to the COVID hospital after testing positive.
The third victim, a Tamil Nadu returnee, was kept in a quarantine centre of Jaganathprasad block on May 11 and shifted to COVID hospital when he developed health problems. However, he has been found to be negative after passing away. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained.
Sources said, his death may have been caused by extreme fatigue and sun stroke as he is said to have walked down all the way from Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, detection of a positive case from the Mango Market of Berhampur city along with the two deaths on a single day has sparked fear among the public. Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange, however, sought to allay the fears and said the person found positive from the market has travel history outside and it is not community transmission.
“All positive cases have emerged from quarantine centres in the district only. We don’t have community transmission as yet. The situation is under control. Zero COVID patient on ventilator. All positives are in stable condition in Ganjam,” he tweeted.
Kulange said contact tracing is on and exhorted the people not to trust fake news. “People should not be panic and the battle against coronavirus can be won if we follow COVID-19 guidelines like wearing masks, washing hands frequently and maintaining social distance,” he added.
On Sunday, the district saw another 17 new positive cases, all from quarantine centres. In Berhampur, detection of a suspected positive case in Sankarpur street, the business hub of the Silk City and subsequent sealing of the area since Friday evening, has left the residents restive.
Apart from raising barricades, the administration also pasted one month home quarantine notice in front of 50 houses in the street besides taking six persons of a family to an isolation centre.
On the day, the administration sealed Gunthabandha village under Kukudakhandi block and declared it a containment zone but did not state the reason. Sources said a positive patient used to frequent the village just before he was found to be infected by COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the inflow of returnees to the district from other states continues unabated. Three Shramik Special trains with 4,664 migrant workers from Surat reached Jagannathpur railway station here on the day.
10 more test positive
Athagarh: Ten more COVID-19 positive cases were detected from Tigiria block in Athagarh Sub-Division of Cuttack on Sunday. All the new patients are reportedly from Gadadharpur quarantine Centre including eight males, a pregnant woman and a minor girl. They had returned from Ahmedabad and Surat of Gujarat recently.
Tigiria BDO Diptimayee Behera said a total of 11 persons, including the mother of the girl, have been admitted to COVID hospitals in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Though the report of the mother was negative, she was sent for further tests, Behera added.
After the fresh cases were detected, the local administration sanitised the quarantine centre and barricaded it. Earlier, two COVID positive cases were reported from the block. So far, Cuttack district has reported 22 positive cases.
Four new cases in Balangir
Balangir: Four new COVID-19 positive cases were detected in Balangir on Sunday. All the patients had returned from Surat on May 9 and were put up in quarantine centre. While two patients are from Talpalipara area of Balangir town, the rest belong to Bandhpara panchayat of Puintala block. They have been admitted to KIMS, Bhubaneswar. With this, the number of positive cases rose to six in Balangir. Meanwhile, the administration has lifted containment zone tag from Tusra and Gudvela after all the swab samples collected from these areas were found to be negative.
Barbil in COVID-hit list
Barbil: A person tested COVID-19 positive in Barbil municipality, becoming the first coronavirus patient of this border town in Champua sub-division which is adjacent to Jharkhand. The patient had returned from Kolkata along with two other migrant workers via Ranchi in Jharkhand on May 9. After registering with the municipal authorities, they were placed in quarantine centre near Matkambeda high school. On May 14, their swabs were collected for testing. Sources said only one of them was found to be positive after the report arrived on Saturday. The patient has been shifted to the COVID hospital at Cuttack. The administration has sealed seven forest routes leading to Jharkhand from Barbil and Bolani. Screening of all persons passing through the border gate at Nalda is being carried out by the police.