A woman, who tested COVID-19 positive in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district on Sunday, had come in contact with 63 persons, including her expecting niece, during the lockdown period.
During the contact-tracing exercise, the Jharsuguda district administration was surprised to find so many people coming in contact with the woman and her family members during the lockdown.
The 40-year-old woman had contracted the infection from a previous positive case.
During the lockdown, the woman hailing from the Kudaloi gram panchayat of the Lakhanpur block had travelled to neighbouring Sundargarh district to meet her expecting niece on April 21.
“She had accompanied the pregnant woman to the District Headquarters Hospital of Sundargarh in the 102 ambulance with an ASHA worker and came back to village on April 26,” said Saroj Samal, Jharsuguda District Collector. Swab was collected from her on April 30.
“Her family comprises five members, excluding her. The total number of people who have come in contact either with the family members or the patient is 58. And the total number of people comes to 63,” said Mr. Samal.
He said the information was shared with the Collector in Sundargarh, where 10 persons were suspected to have come in contact with her. The woman has been admitted to COVID-19 hospital, Jharsuguda.
Meanwhile, two youths who had travelled from Tirupur from Tamil Nadu to Odisha’s Balangir district on March 17 have tested positive. They were put in home quarantine till April 5. Nearly 26 days after completing quarantine, they tested positive for coronavirus on May 1. They have been admitted to COVID-19 hospital, Balangir.
