2 areas of Bhubaneswar sealed after elderly man tested COVID- 19 positive

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation on Sunday sealed Sundarpada and Jadupur areas in the state capital and declared the localities as "containment zones" after a 70-year-old man, who returned from Australia recently, tested positive for COVID-19 here.

The man is a resident of Kapila Prasad Housing Board Colony which comes under Sundarpada ward adjacent to Jadupur, Chaudhury said, BMC Commissioner P C Chaudhury said.

Another person was also tested positive for the disease on Sunday.

The 29-year-old man is a resident of Bomikhal area, which has already been sealed and declared a containment zone after three members of a family tested positive, Chaudhury said.

Surya Nagar area had also been sealed and declared a containment zone on April 2, after a 60-year-old man, without any recent domestic or international travel history, tested positive for coronavirus.

Nobody is allowed to enter containment zones and residents of these areas have been prohibited from moving out, Choudhury said.

All shopping establishments, including groceries and medicine shops, will remain closed in these localities, he said.

All essential commodities and medicines will be supplied to households through various teams formed by the BMC, he said adding that all inhabitants within the containment zone will strictly remain at home, according to a notification issued by the BMC.

Meanwhile, all the entry and exit points of Sundarpada and Jadupur areas are being sealed by putting up barricades, the BMC commissioner said.

The area will be sanitized and it will be ensured that availability of basic services is not affected, while all those who have come in contact with the patient and his family members have been advised to observe 14-day home quarantine, Chaudhury said.

A team of doctors will undertake door-to-door visits in the area, Chaudhury said. Odisha has so far reported a total of 23 COVID-19 cases, of whom two have been cured.