SAMBALPUR: The district administration on Wednesday declared five hostels of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences And Research (VIMSAR), Burla as micro containment zones following the detection of 16 fresh Covid cases among medical students. Four other hostels and staff quarters have also been declared buffer zones. So far, 47 MBBS students, mostly from the first year, have tested positive for Covid-19. All the infected students have been kept in the isolation ward of VIMSAR.
As per the notice issued by the district administration, Sabitri, Gargi, Charak, Bhrugu and Patanjali Hostels have been declared micro containment zones. Besides, the staff quarters, Apala, Atreya, Biswamitra and Markendaya Hostels have been declared buffer zones.
In micro containment zones, there shall be a strict perimeter to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these areas, except for medical emergencies and maintaining the supply of essential goods and services. Similarly, all vehicular movement including public transport will be stopped except in extremely urgent medical cases. There shall be intensive contact tracing and other clinical intervention as required during the period of containment.
In buffer zones, all persons will have to wear masks and maintain social distance besides avoiding non-essential activities. All roads connecting the micro containment zones will be guarded by police. To monitor the situation, the Vedvyas guesthouse lobby of VIMSAR has been turned into a control room which is manned by police, medical personnel and staff of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC).
Meanwhile, VIMSAR authorities have scaled up tests to identify the remaining infected persons at the earliest and isolate them. VIMSAR Superintendent Lal Mohan Nayak said samples of students from other hostels and a few teachers and staff have been collected. Reportedly, around 300 samples have been collected so far and the test reports are awaited.
Control measures