Odisha's COVID-19 patient came in contact with 129 people: Govt

Odisha's first COVID-19 positive man has come in contact with at least 129 people during his journey by train from New Delhi and after his arrival in Bhubaneswar, an official said. The 33-year-old man, a researcher at Universita Degli Studi di Milano in Italy, was admitted to the Capital Hospital last Saturday. His swab test report late on Sunday night showed positive for novel coronavirus, state government spokesperson Subroto Bagchi said.

"The lone COVID-19 patient in Odisha has come in contact with 53 people in the state and 76 others during his train journey from Delhi to Bhubaneswar," The government has already identified 53 people, including the doctor and staff of a private clinic visited by the patient. They have been suggested home quarantine as a precautionary measure, Bagchi said.

Efforts are on to identify the 76 people, who were travelling in the same coach boarded by the man, who had reached Bhubaneswar last Thursday and consulted a private doctor the next day, according to the official. The private clinic visited by the patient has also been sealed, Bagchi said.

However, the family members of the patient raised questions on the confirmation of the test report. "They have not drawn blood sample from my brother. The doctors only took his throat swab and nasal liquid for the test. I doubt the test report," the patient's sister told reporters at the Capital Hospital.

The sister also claimed that the doctors at the hospital had told her brother that his report was negative for COVID-19 and asked him to get discharged from the facility at 9 pm on Sunday night. "However, around midnight, they claimed that my brother is a COVID-19-positive case. Therefore, I doubt the test report, she said.

However, there was no word from the state government on the allegations made by the patient's family. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country rose to 114, with the state reporting its first COVID-19 patient and a new case each in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala, according to the Union Health Ministry.

(Photo credits: PTI)