10 Kumbh Mela Returnees Test COVID-19 Positive In Odisha

Rayagada: Ten of 29 Kumbh Mela returnees of Padampur block in Odisha’s Rayagada have tested positive for COVID-19.

They had returned to the district on Sunday and were found infected during the rapid antigen test, a report published in The Times of India said.

So far, 70 people, who had attended the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, have returned to the district.

The 20 persons, who returned on Monday, are being kept at the COVID care centre. The Rayagada administration has made 14-day quarantine mandatory for the returnees.

“The 14-day quarantine is mandatory for even those who test negative during the RT-PCR test,” Collector Saroj Kumar Mishra told the national daily.

Checkpoints have set up at the Rayagada railway station and ANMS and Anganwadi workers are keeping track of Kumbh Mela returnees to ensure that none escapes the COVID-19 test, he said.

The administration has also readied a dedicated COVID hospital at J K Pur and six COVID care centres for migrants if found positive for the virus on their return.