Omicron Scare: 404 Foreign Returnees Untraceable In Odisha’s Cuttack

Cuttack: Lack of information about travel history and details of those who flew in from ‘at risk’ countries to Cuttack district has put the administration in a tight spot.

According to sources, only 27 of 431 persons, who returned to the district from foreign countries including Africa between November 22 and December 7, have been identified. While these travellers have tested negative for COVID, they have been asked to undergo isolation for seven days and undergo RT-PCR test on the eighth day.

However, the administration has not been able to contact the remaining 404 foreign returnees.

“While some of them are not responding to the telephone calls, mobile phones of the others are either switched off or unreachable. Some have not mentioned their correct address,” CDMO Satyabrat Chhotray was quoted as saying by TNIE.

If the returnees remain incommunicado, health officials will take help of police to trace them, District Covid Nodal Officer Dr Umesh Ray told the national daily.

During a high-level virtual meeting between the Centre and states on Thursday, Odisha informed that 1,134 foreign returnees to Odisha had registered in the ‘Air Subidha’ portal and four among them—two each from Jajpur and Sundargarh districts—  tested positive for COVID-19. Their samples have been sent for genome sequencing.

Also Read: Four Returnees From ‘At Risk’ Countries Test COVID Positive In Odisha