BHAWANIPATNA: Detection of 11 new coronavirus positive cases in Kalahandi has become a cause of concern for the district administration. As many as 10 out of the 11 cases are migrant workers who returned from other states are were put up in temporary medical centres (TMCs) at Sagada in Bhawanipatna block and Basantpada in Lanjigarh.
While eight patients returned from Maharashtra, one each had travel history to Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. All of them had returned to Kalahandi on May 14.
Besides, a woman employee of Odisha Livelihood Mission, which is the service provider at Basantapada TMC, has also tested Covid-19 positive. All the affected persons have been shifted to the Covid hospital in Government Engineering College, Singhjharan on the outskirts of Bhawnaipatna. While contact tracing of the patients is on, swab samples have been collected from the inmates of the two TMCs.
Kalahandi Collector Parag Harshad Gavali said the rise in number of migrant workers returning to the the district has emerged as a challenge for the administration. Till Wednesday, 15,376 migrant workers have returned to Kalahandi.Meanwhile, two coronavirus patients of the district, who were admitted to Aswini Covid hospital at Cuttack, have recovered and returned home.