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

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Coronavirus: Odisha to conduct 5,000 tests in next 7 days in Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar, Apr 17 () As part of a new strategyfor quick detection of coronavirus cases, the Odishagovernment will be conducting tests of 5,000 samples collectedfrom COVID-19 hotspots in the state capital in the next sevendays.

The tests will be done on the basis of priorityparameters set by the Health and Family Welfare department,Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said at a media briefing here.

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The samples will be collected from three categories ofpeople who are at risk because of the deadly virus, he said.

Category-1 includes people having travel history toforeign countries or to any corona hotspot within the country,persons having flu symptoms, people who have come in contactwith identified COVID-19 patients, and persons having severeacute respiratory illness (SARI).

Police personnel, those engaged in the health sector,and sanitation workers are included in the second category.

The third priority category will have senior citizensand people having other diseases, the chief secretary said.

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The testing will be done in camps and mobile vans, hesaid.

Mentioning that Bhubaneswar has a population of over10 lakh people, the chief secretary said, the state capitalhas so far reported 46 of the states total 60 COVID-19positive cases.

"Therefore, testing on a massive scale needs to bedone in the city," he said.

Seeking cooperation of the people in this drive,Tripathy said, if a vulnerable person falling in thepriority list resists, the government may be forced to involvethe police.

He said the government has already requested residentwelfare associations and senior members of puja committees tocooperate with the government in conducting the tests.

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At the same time, he assured people that thegovernment will provide the best treatment possible if anyoneis found to be COVID-19 positive.

The chief secretary pointed out that so far, thegovernment has conducted tests of 1,958 samples in Bhubaneswarof which 2.4 per cent tested positive for coronavirusinfection.

He said the government has meanwhile expanded testfacilities for COVID-19 across the state and also inBhubaneswar.

The chief secretary also said, "Since it has beendecided to relax economic activities from April 20, we wantthe process also to begin in Bhubaneswar as it is one of themain commercial centres in the state."

On the ban of spitting in public places, Tripathy saidspitting in public places is now an offence in Odishaaccording to COVID-19 regulations.

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Penalty of Rs 200 will be slapped for the first threeoffences and the fine amount will be Rs 500 for subsequentviolations. AAM SKNMM MM
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