When Odisha Spokesperson On COVID-19 Compared Home Quarantine With Jagannath’s ‘Anasara’

Bhubaneswar: Taking note of the desperation among people for masks to protect themselves against coronavirus, the state government’s chief spokesperson on COVID-19 Subroto Bagchi on Wednesday made it clear that healthy persons need not wear masks.

“I request that people who have no symptom of illness should not wear the mask. If a person is taken ill, he should wear a mask after consulting the doctor,” Bagchi said in a press meet here.

Referring to the acute shortage of hand sanitizers in the state, he said people can use soap,

Giving the latest update, Bagchi said so far, sample tests of 47 persons have been conducted of which 46 are negative. However, the student who recently returned from Italy has tested positive. He is undergoing treatment at the special isolation ward in the Capital Hospital and his condition is stated to be good.

He said the blood and swab samples of 12 persons sent for test to the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) in Bhubaneswar have been found negative. As per official information, six more samples were sent today.

Referring to the registration of the persons on COVID-19 portal of the state government https://covid19.odisha.gov.in  after their return from foreign countries, Bagchi said a total of 2131 persons registered by 2pm on Wednesday.

He said out of 2131 persons, about 20 per cent have come from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while the highest number of persons are from Khurda district followed by the Cuttack district.

Stating that avoiding large gatherings is one of the safest methods against the novel coronavirus, Bagchi advised religious institutions to strictly adhere to social distancing and take necessary steps to restrict the entry of devotees.

However, he said that the best way to keep a person safe is self-quarantine.

“When someone is afflicted with typhoid, the doctor advises him/her to stay indoors for 14 days. Even Lord Jagannath, during his illness stays inside the anasara griha (closed room) for 14 days. The same is applicable for coronavirus. If a person quarantines himself for 14 days, he will remain absolutely safe from the deadly virus,” he pointed out.