BHUBANESWAR: AS the Covid-19 situation continued to remain grim in Odisha, the State government on Tuesday revised its earlier guidelines on 15-day quarantine of healthcare providers deployed at the Covid hospitals.There is now no need of quarantine for the fully vaccinated (two weeks after second dose) healthcare workers engaged in treatment of patients. Earlier, they were being quarantined after a 15-day duty stint.
The Health and Family Welfare department has directed all CDMOs and superintendent of medical colleges and hospitals to do the manpower planning accordingly so that the staff can work with usual day off as per rules.
“The district health authorities have been asked to follow infection control guidelines scrupulously in the Covid facilities. If any service provider during duty develops symptoms, he/she will be immediately isolated and tested,” said Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra.
The State recorded 588 new cases from 27 in the last 24 hours pushing the active cases to 3,465. While Khurda district reported over 100 cases for the first time this year, the test positivity rate soared to 2.35 pc from two pc a day before.
Eight districts bordering Chhattisgarh accounted for 43 per cent (pc) of the daily caseload as the infection spread in the rural pockets. The State government has imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am in 10 border districts from Monday.
Health Minister Naba Kishore Das asked health officials to visit Dimirimunda panchayat in Sambalpur district and initiate immediate containment measures after 38 villagers tested positive in the last three days.
Meanwhile, the State government rushed 34 more specialist doctors to six more districts which have been witnessing a spurt in new infections. The doctors from SCB MCH and VIMSAR have been deployed at Sundargarh, Balangir, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Koraput and Puri. On Monday, 36 specialists were sent to four worst hit districts.