A day ahead of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's scheduled interaction with all chief ministers including Naveen Patnaik on measures to combat COVID-19, the Odisha government on Wednesday sought more N95 masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) from the Centre, officials said.Odisha's demand was put forth by Chief Secretary A K Tripathy during a video conference with Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba."Among other demands, we have stressed on an adequate supply of N95 masks and PPEs," said Vishal Dev, Officer on Special Duty in the chief secretary's office.The Odisha government's demand came after doctors of state-run Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Burla wrote to Patnaik seeking quality masks and PPEs for doctors and nurses who deal with COVID-19 patients.Four coronavirus positive cases have been reported in Odisha so far but the state government has opened many quarantine centres and isolation wards.The Centre asked the states to trace attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat gathering and persons with whom they had come in contact with, an official present at the video conference said.The states were also asked to initiate action against attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat gathering from abroad who had violated visa norms, he said.The Centre also asked the states to ensure that movement of goods is not hindered but while maintaining social distancing norms, the official added.
