Bhubaneswar: Coronavirus is fast spreading its tentacles in the Odisha capital with 969 positive cases being reported from July 15 to July 25.
What is worrying is the rising cases in slums like Trinath Nagar Basti, Ganapati Nagar, Sitapur slum in Nayapalli, Harinagar near Mahishakhal and Akhandalmani slum in Unit-1. The cases have been rising despite the imposition of shutdown and lockdown and announcement of containment zones.
The Nayapalli area has become the hotspot of the capital city with positive cases pouring in from three slums in the area.
Over 90 people have been infected in Trinath Nagar Basti alone. Active surveillance has also been disrupted here after an ASHA worker was infected, sources said.
Besides Trinath Nagar, the Sitapur slum has also been affected. More than 30 cases have been reported here. Over 20 cases each have been reported from Ganapati Nagar and Gandhinagar slums. More than 50 infected people have been identified from various slums in Salia Sahi, according to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) tweets.
The infection tally has risen to 50 in Harinagar, near Mahishakhal and over 20 cases have been reported from Akhandalmani slum in Unit-1.
The government, however, has attributed the recent spike to more testing and door-to-door surveys being conducted in the city to identify and isolates people with COVID-19 symptoms. Antigen tests are also be conducted by the civic body.
As a part of its slum strategy to contain the spread of COVID-19, the BMC had issued an order on June 29, directing hospital authorities to put staff residing in slum areas in 14 days shift and make arrangements for their accommodation on the premises.
On July 25, BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary had told the media that cases reported from slums were less compared to other parts of the city. While 418 cases were reported from city slums, 1,410 people had tested positive for the virus from non-slum areas till July 24.
To contain the spread of the virus in slum areas of Bhubaneswar, the BMC has formed a slum committee in each slum. Active contact tracing is being conducted successfully with the active cooperation of committee members.
“The efforts of the slum committee have paid off as 41 positive cases have been detected from Mahisakhala slum. The slum has been declared as containment zone,” Chaudhary had said, adding that four other slums in the city have been identified as containment zones.
He said that all steps are to identify people with symptoms and contain the spread of the virus.
Also Read: 969 COVID-19 Cases In Bhubaneswar In Last 10 Days
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