NDRF man tests COVID positive after return from cyclone-hit Bengal, 173 being tested

With detection of the case, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) authorities have ordered testing of all 173 men who were deployed in the neighbouring state on post-cyclone duty, they said.

Six personnel showed coronavirus-like symptoms after returning from West Bengal on June 3, and they were rushed to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for examination, a senior officer of the NDRF’s 3rd Battalion told PTI.

One of them tested positive for the COVID-19 and admitted to Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack, he said.

All the personnel who returned from West Bengal after restoration work have been lodged in a three-storied building, which has been contained, in the NDRF campus at Mundali near Cuttack.

All the personnel will remain in the building till their swab sample examination is completed. None of them have any symptoms of COVID-19, the officer said.

Further, 376 personnel of the Fire Services and 271 of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, who were sent to West Bengal for relief and restoration works after the cyclone ravaged the state on May 20, were also sent to quarantine on their return, an official said.