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Odisha: BJD MP, state minister take ill; admitted to Covid hospital
Padmini Dian, minister for textiles, handlooms and handicrafts; and Nabarangpur MP Ramesh Chandra Majhi were shifted to a Covid-19 hospital in Bhubaneswar after they complained of difficulty in breathing
A Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member of Parliament (MP) and a minister in the Odisha government have been admitted to a dedicated coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hospital in Bhubaneswar after they complained of difficulties in breathing days after they were infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease.
Padmini Dian, minister for textiles, handlooms and handicrafts; and Nabarangpur MP Ramesh Chandra Majhi, both of whom belong to the BJD, were shifted to a Covid-19 hospital in Bhubaneswar.
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They had tested Covid-19 positive around nine days ago and were quarantined at home.
Dian’s husband Sadashib Dian, a police officer, who had also tested Covid-19 positive, was also shifted to the same hospital, where his wife is undergoing treatment. Her son and nephew are quarantined at home after they, too, contracted the viral infection.
So far, 20 members of the Odisha legislative assembly (MLAs), six ministers and four MPs from the state have tested Covid-19 positive. Minister for women and child development and Mission Shakti Tukuni Sahu; minister for rural development Susant Singh; minister for higher education Arun Kumar Sahoo, minister for food supplies and consumer welfare Ranendra Pratap Swain; and minister for tourism Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi have tested Covid-19 positive.
Manjulata Mandal (BJD), Suresh Pujari (Bharatiya Janata Party) and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan (BJD) are the other three MPs, who have been afflicted with the contagion.
The MLAs who tested Covid-19 positive are Sadasiva Pradhani (Nabarangpur), Prabhu Jani (Laxmipur), Bhagirathi Sethy (Anandpur), Soumya Ranjan Patnaik (Khandapada), Bishnubrata Routray (Basudevpur ), Susant Rout (Bhubaneswar North), Ananta Narayan Jena (Ananta Narayan Jena), Bikram Panda (Berhampur), Byomakesh Ray (Chandbali), Debi Prasad Mishra (Badamba), Pritam Padhi (Pottangi), Sanjib Mallick (Bhadrak), Sunanda Das (Bari), Srikant Sahu (Polasara), Sudhanshu Shekhar Parida (Remuna), Prasanta Muduli (Jagatsinghpur), Sashi Bhushan Behera (Kendrapara), Saroj Meher 9Patnagarh), Prasant Behera (Salipur) and Sukant Nayak (Nilagiri).
Odisha has reported over 150,000 Covid-19 cases to date.
Dr Jayant Panda, a consultant to the state health department, estimated that Odisha could report over 200,000 Covid-19 cases by end-September.
“The viral infection cases are likely to come down after September,” he said.
The pandemic has cast a shadow over the upcoming monsoon session of the Odisha assembly, which is scheduled to be held in end-September.
Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro announced last week that all ministers, MLAs and staff of the assembly would have to compulsorily undergo Covid-19 test two days before the assembly starts.
A counter will be set up in the assembly for the real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and only those, whose test results show Covid-19 negative, will be allowed to take part in the assembly proceedings. The Question Hour session will not be held during the monsoon session.
Rapid antigen detection (RAD) test will be conducted for all the officers, who will attend the assembly session.
