Odisha govt to intensify COVID test in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to test 5,000 samples only in hotspot Bhubaneswar in the next 7 days, informed chief secretary Asit Tripathy on Friday.

“As part of precautionary measure, we have decided to intensify COVID-19 tests in upcoming days to identify persons infected with the deadly virus,” informed the chief secretary.

Out of total 60 COVID-19 positive cases, Bhubaneswar has reported 46 cases.

Tripathy said the samples will be collected on a four-tier priority basis from people who are at risk because of the highly infectious virus.

He explained that in the top priority are SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Illness) patients and healthcare workers deployed at COVID-19 hotspots.

Police personnel, sanitation workers and COVID workers belong to the second tier. The third priority category has senior citizens with co-morbid conditions and lastly, some samples will be collected at random.

He said that city has been divided into three zones headed by 6 IAS officers for active surveillance.

A total of 1958 samples have been collected from Bhubaneswar so far and the number will be increased significantly.