Balasore: The district administration Monday sealed seven pathological labs in the town for gross negligence and violation of COVID-19 norms such as social distancing, wearing of masks, using sanitisers and sanitisation of the premises.
Reportedly, rise in COVID positive cases has become a cause of concern for the district administration following which it has launched a drive to check whether COVID guidelines are being followed in nursing homes and patho labs in the town.
An 8-member team comprising officials of the health department and local administration conducted raids at 11 places near the district headquarters hospital Monday and initiated action on seven patho labs for violating the COVID-19 guidelines of the state government, additional tehsildar Shatrughna Sethi said.
The administration also sealed a diagnostic facility after one of its staff was found positive. The administration also sealed the regional transport office till July 15 and collected swabs of five staff in the town after a driver in the office tested positive, RTO Bikash Chandra Chowdhury said. The remaining staff in the office were asked to go on quarantine.
Meanwhile, the editor of a local newspaper was admitted to the COVID hospital at Khurda in the district after he tested positive for the virus. The swab samples of all the staff in the office have been collected for examination.
PNN