Bhubaneswar: With COVID-19 cases rising across the country, the Odisha government has launched preventive and containment measures to curb its spread in the state.
According to officials, out of the 755 samples in the state as on June 6, as many as 38 persons were found COVID-19 positive.
Nine of these persons have already recovered and resumed normalcy, while the remaining patients are in home isolation and reported to be clinically stable.
In an effort to strengthen preparedness and align with national strategies, a high-level virtual meeting was held on June 3, chaired by the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW).
The meeting focused on surveillance, early detection, home isolation protocols, and data sharing. Following the discussions, the Centre has outlined unified recommendations, which the Odisha government is actively implementing, said officials.
The state government has reiterated its commitment to implementing coordinated measures to ensure the health and safety of its citizens.
As part of preparedness, steps have been initiated to ensure availability of oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medicines in hospitals.
Odisha has already been conducting mock drills to assess the functioning of oxygen infrastructure, including PSA plants and LMO tanks, while facility-level preparedness drills were carried out on June 4 and 5.
Surveillance activities are also being intensified, with state and district-level IDSP units closely monitoring cases of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI). As per national guidelines, all hospitalized SARI cases and 5% of ILI cases are being tested for COVID-19. Positive samples are further sent for genome sequencing through the ICMR-VRDL network to track any potential variant activity.
People have been urged to follow standard precautions such as hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and to avoid crowded areas, particularly when experiencing respiratory symptoms. People with acute respiratory illness are advised to self-monitor and seek medical attention if their condition worsens.
