Coronavirus: Odisha to conduct 5,000 tests in next 7 days in Bhubaneswar

As part of a new strategy for quick detection of coronavirus cases, Odisha government will be conducting tests of 5,000 samples collected from COVID-19 hotspots in state capital in next seven days.

tests will be done on basis of priority parameters set by Health and Family Welfare department, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said at a media briefing here. samples will be collected from three categories of people who are at risk because of deadly virus, he said.

Category-1 includes people having travel history to foreign countries or to any corona hotspot within country, persons having flu symptoms, people who have come in contact with identified COVID-19 patients, and persons having severe acute respiratory illness (SARI).

Police personnel, those engd in health sector, and sanitation workers are included in second category. third priority category will have senior citizens and people having or diseases, chief secretary said. testing will be done in camps and mobile vans, he said.

Mentioning that Bhubaneswar has a population of over 10 lakh people, chief secretary said, state capital has so far reported 46 of states total 60 COVID-19 positive cases. "refore, testing on a massive scale needs to be done in city," he said.

Seeking cooperation of people in this drive, Tripathy said, if a vulnerable person falling in priority list resists, government may be forced to involve police. He said government has already requested resident welfare associations and senior members of puja committees to cooperate with government in conducting tests.

At same time, he assured people that government will provide best treatment possible if anyone is found to be COVID-19 positive. chief secretary pointed out that so far, government has conducted tests of 1,958 samples in Bhubaneswar of which 2.4 per cent tested positive for coronavirus infection. He said government has meanwhile expanded test facilities for COVID-19 across state and also in Bhubaneswar.

chief secretary also said, "Since it has been decided to relax ecomic activities from April 20, we want process also to begin in Bhubaneswar as it is one of main commercial centres in state."

On ban of spitting in public places, Tripathy said spitting in public places is w an offence in Odisha according to COVID-19 regulations. Penalty of Rs 200 will be slapped for first three offences and fine amount will be Rs 500 for subsequent violations.

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