120 Of 248 Cases In Cuttack City Reported From Cancer Hospital, 18 From SCB: CMC Commissioner

Cuttack: Commissioner, Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), Ananya Das on Sunday informed that 120 of total 248 positive cases in the city were reported from a single source, Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer (AHPGIC), and another 18 cases from SCB Medical College and Hospital.

At a press briefing, the commissioner said that intensive testing of nearly 500 samples was done at the cancer hospital after a patient, who had come from Ganjam, tested positive for the virus and most patients were recovering well.

Among the other patients, 57 were in home quarantine, 35 in institutional quarantine and 18 local contact cases.

With hospitals turning into COVID hotbed, the CMC has also issued guidelines to be followed by private nursing homes in the city for identification, isolation and treatment of suspected COVID-19 cases.

All private nursing homes have been asked to follow this SOP and also have an isolation area, she said.

The commissioner further said that the two main commercial centres – Malgodown and Chhatra Bazaar – were another major area of concern in Cuttack. “Traders from other states come here with consumables and this increases the risk of contracting the infection. Therefore, people should make their purchases locally and avoid going to crowded markets,” she said.

Stating that 12 cases of COVID-19 were detected from marriage functions, she urged people to restrict marriages and funerals to 50 and 20 persons respectively.

With 90 having cured of the infection, Cuttack now has 156 active cases. The virus has claimed two lives in the city.