Bhubaneswar: As many as 16 residents of an old age home have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nuapada district.
The emergence of the fresh cluster has triggered alarm in Nuapada, which was one of the worst-hit Odisha districts during the second wave of the pandemic.
However, things have since improved and the district has been reporting less than 10 daily cases for the past one month.
Health department sources said 16 inmates of Holy Home at Kurumpuri village in Komna block home were found positive during a mass testing on Saturday.
The district administration is taking no chances. It has sent a medical team to the old age home to assess the spread of the infection.
The administration has also declared three villages — Kurumpuri, Sinapali and Ghatipada — as containment zones. The order will remain in force till 6 pm on July 31. Besides, local markets and weekly haats in the panchayat areas will also remain closed during the period.
It has also asked persons returning from other states to quarantine themselves for seven days.
Meanwhile, the Health Department has asked the districts recording high cases to ramp up surveillance and testing to prevent new clusters.
As for the districts reporting cases in single digit, the department has told the Collectors to keep check against spike in infections.
