Odisha has four suspected coronavirus cases, advisory issued for schools

Till date, 129 travellers who have returned from countries in the grip of coronavirus after January 15, have been identified and kept under home quarantine, officials said.

The Odisha government on Thursday issued an advisory to schools to create awareness among students about common preventive interventions like hand hygiene and respiratory etiquettes.

Till date, 129 travellers who have returned from countries in the grip of coronavirus after January 15, have been identified and kept under home quarantine, officials said.

Odisha has not reported any positive case so far, a bulletin issued by the health and family welfare department said.

Meanwhile, the condition of four suspected cases of coronavirus — two at SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack, one each at VIMSAR, Burla and another in Keojhar district — remained stable.

"The blood and swab samples of the four persons, including a woman, have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune," a senior official said.

The Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) has issued an advisory to all district education officers (DEOs), district project coordinators (DPCs) and block education officers (BEOs) to spread awareness about the deadly Covid-19.

"Preventive interventions such as frequent hand wash, respiratory etiquettes (including using handkerchief over mouth while coughing/sneezing, avoiding public gatherings) would help in preventing/reducing transmission of not only this disease, but also large number of other communicable diseases," the advisory said.

Earlier, the state government had issued a workplace advisory for government employees.

Puri District Collector Balwant Singh has also asked hotels in the pilgrim town to exercise caution on accommodating foreign travellers.

About 500 foreign nationals, mostly from Italy, Japan and France visit Puri every month, Singh said.

Another senior official said the Biju Patnaik International Airport on Thursday installed scanning facility for passengers.

"The passengers will have to undergo thermal scanning and a team of doctors have been deployed at the airport," he said.