BHUBANESWAR: Puri district administration has decided not to offer home quarantine option for returnees from other states, even though the state government has allowed the practice in the urban areas. Puri
district collector
Balwant Singh said all returnees must undergo institutional quarantine or paid isolation.
"We will not allow
home isolation
facilities in Puri urban locality. We took the decision following violation of home quarantine rule by a Puri-based couple, who had returned from West Bengal recently. They had visited different places in Puri before being tested positive on Sunday. We have made it mandatory for all returnees to stay in institutional quarantine centres or temporary medical centres," Singh said.
The district collector said a complaint has been lodged with the Puri police to initiate legal action against the couple for alleged violation of home quarantine norms.
Puri administration has reasons to worry as the district had not reported any positive case since the first case was detected on April 3. The positive patient recovered several weeks ago. The detection of two cases (the couple) on Sunday set the alarm bells ringing for the administration that is busy is facilitating construction of chariots for June 23 Rath Yatra. A fresh positive case surfaced in Gop area of Puri district on Tuesday, adding to the woes of the administration. At present, Puri has three active positive cases.
"We are trying our best to prevent the spread of
Covid-19
virus in the town and district. All guidelines of the government are being strictly followed. Chariot work is in progress. We will start a swab collection of carpenters engaged in chariot making from Wednesday for the Corona test. The carpenters have been accommodated in temple guest houses. We also discussed with the servers of Daitapati Nijog today and discussed about Covid-19 precautions," Singh added.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Debabrata Mohapatra is a senior correspondent at The Times of In...
Read MoreDebabrata Mohapatra is a senior correspondent at The Times of India, Bhubaneswar. He holds a PG diploma in Journalism from Chennai and covers crime and civic issues. Debabrata spends his leisure reading and watching cricket on TV.
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