Odisha: BMC Starts Random Covid-19 Testing To Track Down Spreaders

Bhubaneswar: Following the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases in the State and the Capital city, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) started conducting random testing all over the city from Thursday to identify the spreaders.

BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary said, “From today onwards we are starting random COVID-19 testing program in several parts of Bhubaneswar to track down the spreaders.”

He said the random testing programme would be carried out at two spots in each zone of the city. “Till then I am requesting every educational institution to follow COVID guidelines,” Chaudhary added.

Chaudhary said though the BMC has the existing capacity to carry out 2000 testings per day, “but right now we are planning to carry out 600 RTPCR and 1000 Antigen tests. The testing will increase in the coming days,” he informed.

The Commissioner said that the civic body is planning to carry out random testing at different malls and market places of the city in the coming days.

According to the available data, Odisha has recorded a total of over 3.39 lakh Covid-19 positive cases till now out of which 3.36 lakh have been cured while 1919 total deaths have been recorded so far.

The State reported 1,216 new COVID cases in last 14 days out of which 214 were on Thursday.

126 people are under surveillance and quarantined to avoid further spreading. The disclosure about three UK returnees having tested positive created some panic on Wednesday. However, it was clarified latter that the three infected individuals have fully recovered and their infection had been contained.