Kaptipada: After four Surat returnees tested positive for COVID-19 in Kaptipada area of Mayurbhanj district, people in the area and some parts of Udala block have panicked. The infection has triggered worries for both the people and the administration. The district was earlier tagged as a green zone, but now as orange zone after this incident.
Three of the four COVID infected people belong to Pingu village while the other belongs to Baliposi village under JS Jamudiha panchayat.
According to reports, two buses had carried migrant labourers from Surat May 4. The first bus had 27 migrant workers while the other bus came two hours later with 28 people. 50 of them belong to Kaptipada while two each are of Khunta and Badasahi. One was of Balasore.
Meanwhile, local people are in jitters, fearing that the number of infections could rise as testing reports are being awaited. The area was made containment zone and sanitized, said nodal officer Ghanashyam Singh.
It was learnt that 5540 people in Kaptipada area have registered to return home while 67 of them have arrived. 60 of them have returned from Surat, seven from Hyderabad, Kerala and Karnataka.
A team of health officials have been monitoring the quarantine centres where the returnees were kept for testing and observation.
PNN