Coronavirus | Visitors from Bengal face quarantine in Odisha

14-day isolation made mandatory for all travellers amid reports of virulent strain of virus

The Odisha government on Thursday imposed a mandatory 14-day quarantine for persons coming into the State from West Bengal, where a dangerous triple mutant variant of COVID-19 has been reported. “Initially, districts bordering Chhattisgarh reported high number of COVID-19 cases. Now, we see a major threat coming from West Bengal where State elections are going on. There has been sudden rise in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring State. Besides, a dangerous triple mutant variant of COVID-19 is also detected among COVID-19 infected patients in West Bengal,” Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra told reporters in the capital Bhubaneshwar. Anyone coming to Odisha from West Bengal by personal or hired vehicles or entering the State in any other mode would undergo mandatory institutional or paid quarantine for 14 days in cluster temporary medical centres.