Mission Zero: Purusottampur block in Ganjam district is now COVID-19 free

Berhampur, June 20: Purusottampur is the first block in Ganjam district to become coronavirus-free as the migrant-prone block did not have any active case as of now, an official said.
During the second wave, 183 people in Purushottampur block have been infected with the virus since March 1, Block Development Officer (BDO) Bijay Behera said.

The block has 96 villages in 26 panchayats and a notified area council.

The highest active case in the block was recorded on May 11 with 21 cases. The numbers of infections have started to decline since then, Behera said.

Of the 22 blocks in the district, Purushottampur is the first block in the second wave of the pandemic that became the coronavirus-free as there was no active case in the entire block on Saturday, Ganjam District Collector Vijay Kulange said.

Around 35,000 out of the 1.40 lakh population in the block had undergone coronavirus tests in the first and second wave, sources said.

The BDO said the administration was now focussing on the vaccination drive in the block, which has achieved an inoculation rate of 62 per cent.

A total of 6.92 lakh eligible people have taken the first dose in the district, while 1.16 lakh people have received the second dose so far.

"We have launched ''mission zero'', targeting villages as a unit to make the entire district as free from Covid," the collector said, adding that "Block staff have been working to achieve the goal."

Over the next week, at least seven more blocks in the district are expected to be Covid-free as they have less than 10 active cases at present, another officer said.

As many as 367 out of 503 panchayats and 3,030 out of 3,155 villages in the district have become Covid-free till now as the panchayats and villages have not a single active case, sources said.

Similarly, seven out of 18 urban local bodies in the district have also become COVID-19 free. These are Aska, Belaguntha, Digapahandi, Gopalpur, Purushottampur, Rambha and Sorada.

At least five more urban bodies are likely to be Covid-free in the next week as they have only one or two active cases at present, sources said.