COVID-19: Woman arrested for spreading rumours, Odisha govt warns people

A woman was arrested in Odisha on the grounds of allegedly spreading rumours after detection of the fourth COVID-19 patient in the state. The state government has also warned people of strong action under the IT Act and the Epidemic Act if anybody is found spreading any rumour regarding COVID-19.

Bhubaneswar (Odisha): The Odisha government on Wednesday said that strict action will be taken against anyone for spreading fake news after a woman was arrested in Bhadrak for doing so.

Odisha's COVID-19 spokesperson Subroto Bagchi said that some rumours were being spread after detection of the fourth COVID-19 patient.

Any rumour related to COVID-19 is being dealt with severely. This will not be tolerated and strong action will be taken against the rumour-mongers. For any fake news, the action shall be taken against persons concerned under the IT Act and the Epidemic Act, he said.

In addition, the Commissionerate of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, on Wednesday, registered a criminal case at Malgodown Police Station against a resident of Jobra in Cuttack for spreading fake news.

People engaged in spreading fake news are anti- national, Bagchi said.

If people fear to report in case they develop symptoms of being infected with the coronavirus then they may become super-spreader of the virus and cause damage to the society, he said.

From the morning of March 31 to April 1, a total of 219 cases have been registered by the police for different violations of regulations and guidelines related to COVID-19, Bagchi said.

A total of 197 cases have been registered for violation of lockdown, nine cases for violation of home quarantine and 13 cases related to other incidents violations, he informed.

Giving details of Odishas 4th COVID-19 positive patient, Bagchi said he is a 29-year-old professional working in Dubai.

"He reached Kolkata from Dubai on March 18. From there he travelled alone to Howrah station and from there he boarded a train to Bhadrak, and from Bhadrak station he took an autorickshaw to reach home, he said.

The man has been under home quarantine since March 30 and tested positive for the COVID-19 on March 31, Bagchi said, adding that the patient came in contact with seven persons.

He said that the state's first two persons had come in contact with 55 people, while the third patient had come in contact with 112 people.

All the persons who had come in contact with the COVID-19 patients have been quarantined, he said.

Speaking about the states overall COVID-19 situation, Bagchi said till Wednesday noon, out of a total of 610 samples, four samples tested positive for the coronavirus

A total of 88 persons are in isolation in different hospitals, he said, adding that a total of 15,045 persons have registered themselves through online and the 104 health Helpline.

Out of these, 4,332 persons came to the state from abroad and 10,713 persons from other states.

Bagchi also said as many as 6,833 temporary medical centres have been set up in 6,798 gram panchayats.

Similarly, the state government has also prepared 377 dedicated quarantine centres with a capacity of 32,538 across 114 urban local bodies.

PTI report.