Odisha hikes surveillance amid fears of new variant of Covid-19

On Friday, 26 girl students of Chamakpur residential school under Thakurmunda block in Mayurbhanj district had tested positive for Covid-19 after a majority of them showed symptoms of cold and cough.

Updated on: Nov 27, 2021, 23:57:00 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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With WHO designating the new strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus (B.1.1.529) as a ‘Variant of Concern’, the Odisha government on Saturday asked district collectors to intensify surveillance, especially for those coming from foreign countries as isolated clusters of infections were reported from schools and colleges in the state.

Odisha health department officials said authorities have been asked to ensure that those who show symptoms should not be allowed in schools and other institutions as per the SOP issued. (HT PHOTO.)

Director, Public Health, Niranjan Mishra said that following the Centre’s advisory for screening of passengers coming from countries where the new Covid-19 variant Omicron was detected, the state government has asked all district collectors, Municipal Commissioners to begin surveillance and testing of all passengers arriving in the state.

“Those who test positive will be isolated and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing as per the protocol,” said Mishra.

Officials said of the 56 MBSS students of VIMSAR medical college in Sambalpur who were infected with Covid-19 this week, swab samples of 21 students would be sent to Bhubaneswar for genome sequencing to find out why they got infected. VIMSAR Superintendent Professor Lalmohan Nayak said most of the students had taken the second dose of vaccination for Covid-19. “We wonder how so many students got infected despite being fully vaccinated,” he said.

On Friday, 26 girl students of Chamakpur residential school under Thakurmunda block in Mayurbhanj district had tested positive for Covid-19 after a majority of them showed symptoms of cold and cough. Swab samples of 15 other students have been sent to Baripada District Headquarters Hospital for testing. On November 23, at least 53 students of a girls’ high school in Sundargarh district had tested positive for Covid-19.

Health department officials said authorities have been asked to ensure that those who show symptoms should not be allowed in schools as per the SOP issued.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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