Bhubaneswar: With three densely populated northern districts fast emerging as novel coronavirus hotspots, the state government Tuesday rushed Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) and experts to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease, officials said.
The move comes after Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts reported a spurt in COVID-19 cases. Of the 79 COVID-19 cases detected in the state so far, these three districts have together reported 23 cases. As many as 17 new cases were reported in the last 48 hours, a senior official said.
While Bhadrak and Balasore have reported eight cases each, seven COVID-19 cases were detected in Jajpur. The total number of novel coronavirus cases from the three districts was just five two days ago, an official pointed out.
Keeping in view the spike in the positive cases from the three districts, Health and Family Welfare Secretary NB Dhal Tuesday directed experts from medical colleges, senior health officers and state Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to oversee containment measures there, an official statement said.
The department has also assigned specific districts to senior officials. While the director of health services has been rushed to Balasore district, the director of public health will look after Bhadrak and the director of family welfare has been given charge of Jajpur district.
This apart, Dhal also directed three state RRTs to rush to these districts. While the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack will provide technical support in Jajpur district, the Fakir Mohan Medical College Hospital has been supporting the measures in Balasore and Bhadrak districts. Director General of Police Abhay is also scheduled to visit Balasore and Baripada, the headquarters town of Mayurbhanj district to review enforcement along the West Bengal border.
The police chief’s scheduled visit assumes significance as one-third of the COVID-19 cases in Odisha has links to West Bengal. It is alleged that a large number of people from the neighbouring state have been entering Odisha despite the border being sealed. Worried over people returning from West Bengal posing a major challenge to the states COVID-19 preparedness, the state government has asked all the districts to maintain a strict vigil on the movement of people.
