Two doctors test positive for COVID-19 at Rourkela hospital in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, June 07: Two doctors at Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) in Sundergarh have tested positive for coronavirus, raising the number of medicos who have contracted the infection in Odisha to five, an official said.

The doctors, both engaged in COVID-19 duty, were among the 18 cases recorded in Sundergarh since Saturday, District Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan said.

Six of the 18 cases are inmates of Rourkela Special Jail. They were recently apprehended in various cases and lodged at a separate cell, Kalyan said.

Swab samples of all doctors and medical staff at RGH have been sent for examination, he said, adding that follow-up action, including sanitisation of hospital premises and contact tracing, were underway. Sources in the health department said another doctor at Angul district has been diagnosed with the infection.

The 35-year-old doctor is undergoing treatment at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Bhubaneswar, they said. Earlier, two more doctors -- one at Cuttack and the other at Bhubaneswar - had tested positive for the disease.

Odisha has a total of 2,856 coronavirus cases, of which 1,716 have recovered from the disease. Nine people have succumbed to COVID-19 in the state so far.