Observe lock down faithfully, else one million Indians could be affected by COVID-19: Odisha government

Bagchi demonstrated a chart titled “India is headed in the direction of exponential growth, with cases doubling every 5-6 days”. Considering Odisha’s population to the national population, if there are 58,643 cases nationwide it would mean there will be 2,345 affected in Odisha alone”, Bagchi said.

PMRDA Fire Brigade spray desinfectants on streets and housing societies at Bavdhan area as precautionary measure amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 novel corona virus on Monday, (Express photo by Ashish Kale)

Amid rising coronavirus cases in India and centre announcing a lockdown, state spokesperson on COVID-19 Subroto Bagchi on Tuesday said that if stern measures are not taken then one million Indians could be affected by May end, which would then include 36,000 in the state.

Bagchi demonstrated a chart titled “India is headed in the direction of exponential growth, with cases doubling every 5-6 days.” “As per conservative estimates, it is ascertained that in India by May 31, 2020 at least 58,643 people could be affected by the virus. However, credible analyses also state that the number can go up to 10 lakh (1 million)”, he said.

Considering Odisha’s population to the national population, if there are 58,643 cases nationwide it would mean there will be 2,345 affected in Odisha alone”, Bagchi said. “Currently, we have only two cases. But if 1 million get affected in the country, the number could be 36,000 in Odisha”, he predicted.

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“Lock down is not child’s play”, he repeated, adding that people should not invent excuses at police checkpoints just to move without an emergency referring to multiple cases of flouting the lock down in the state on Monday. He also advised people not to unnecessarily crowd hospitals and allow health care providers to attend to really critical cases.

“The economic impact will be enormous”, he said, added “but this is not the time to think about it…we must first save lives”.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Petroleum and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday urged Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the state “to further strengthen the fight against Covid-19”.

“An Ayushman Bharat beneficiary would be able to get himself tested for Covid-19 in any of the empanelled private hospital free of cost. In case a suspected Covid-19 patient has to be isolated in a private hospital, the isolation would also be covered under the scheme”, Pradhan wrote on his Facebook page.

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He added: I request Shri Naveen Patnaik to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Odisha for the benefit of the people to further strengthen the fight against #Covid-19.

The cost of a Corona test done in private, NABL-accredited labs has been capped at Rs 4,500 by the National Task Force.

In June, the Odisha government has placed a set of suggestions for “seamless integration” of the state health assurance scheme Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) with Prime Minister’s Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

A discussion had taken place between Ayushman Bharat CEO Indu Bhushan and Odisha Health minister Naba Das. However, no progress was announced thereafter. Bhushan had at the time said that convergence between both schemes was a “challenge”.

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