The lone coronavirus positive patient in Odisha is doing well and his condition is stable, a senior official of the state government said on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old researcher, who had recently returned from Italy, is lodged at the state-run Capital Hospital here.
He is the first confirmed case of the deadly disease in the state after a test report on Monday last.
The state governments chief spokesperson Subrato Bagchi said out of the 47 samples tested in the state so far, 46 have been found negative and one positive.
"The lone positive patient is doing well and is stable," he said.
In view of COVID-19 scare, Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik appealed to people during the day to mount a collective fight against the virus.
The Governor in a message said that the fight against the deadly disease should be collective and society at large should go by the prescribed guidelines.
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Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who registered his US returned elder sister Gita Mehtas detail travel history in the government portal, appealed all those returned from abroad to enroll their names in the portal to help the government to ensure their better treatment as well as stop spread of the virus.
Replying to a question, Bagchi said contacts of the positive case have been traced and they have been advised home isolation.
He said currently 18 people have been kept in quarantine in different hospitals.
On the facilities available in the state, he said all district headquarters hospitals and Medical College hospitals have isolation wards.
Currently 540 isolation beds are in readiness across the state in government and private hospitals. Quarantine facilities have been identified up to the Block level, across the State, he said.
So far, about 2,131 registrations have been made, of persons with travel history abroad, Bagchi said.
The state government has meanwhile issued advisory to all religious institutions for social distancing and other measures while dealing with the devotees.
"The pilgrims, priests, servitors and other security personnel engaged in religious places to be protected from the virus infection. Agencies/Boards/Trusts/Governing institutions are advised to ensure implementation of the guideline," he said.
The government also issued guidelines for protection of labourers, domestic animals and disinfection of ATMs.
"Volunteers of OSDMA (Odisha State Disatser Mitigation Authority) will inspect the ATM counters to cross check the sanitary operations under taken by Bank Authorities and any violation will be viewed seriously," the government spokesperson said.
The driving license and learners license tests under all RTO offices have been suspended till March 31 as per orders by Transport Commissioner, he added.
The state government also requested the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to disseminate the coronavirus advisory among people through SMS and voice message.
So far 6323 buildings have been identified in Panchayats to facilitate for temporary medical camp if the need arises. Similarly, 261 buildings have been identified in Urban local bodies, he said.
All these buildings are in 97 ULBs out of total 6797 GPS in the state, Bagchi informed.
Meanwhile, the Puri district administration has asked the tourists to vacate hotels in the holy town within two days in wake of the COVID-19 situation and discouraged hoteliers on fresh booking.
International sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik created a sand sculptor in Puri sea beach with a message: "I Stayed at work for you, U stay at home for us.
He displayed images of doctors with mask on their faces appealing people to remain indoors to avoid deadly coronavirus.