Jharsuguda: After triggering panic at some private educational institutes in the Twin Cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, the Covid-19 scare has now gripped an engineering college in Jharsuguda where 21 persons tested positive for the virus on Saturday.
As per preliminary reports, the 21 positive cases include eight students and 13 teachers of the engineering college located on the western flank of the State.
Official sources said swab samples of 100 persons including some students were collected for tests after a positive case was reported from the college recently.
Apart from Jharsuguda, six Covid-19 cases were also detected at government high school in Binika area of Subarnapur district. The infected persons include four students and two employees, sources said.
It is pertinent to mention here that Odisha is witnessing a steep rise in the Covid-19 cases for the past one week. The State has been reporting 200-plus cases for in the last three days.
Earlier this week, 45 persons, including several students had tested positive at the Xavier Institute of Management (XIM) in Bhubaneswar prompting BMC authorities to seal the premier management institute. This was followed by a student testing positive at a Kendriya Vidyalaya in the State capital. Last week, a private college in Cuttack was sealed after over 25 persons tested positive for the virus. The virus scare has also hit the Ravenshaw university in Cuttack where 3 cases had been reported.
210 new Covid-19 cases were reported from different parts of the State in the past 24 hours. A maximum of 51 cases were reported from Khordha district, followed by 23 cases from Nuapada, Cuttack (19) and Bolangir (12).