By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, March 27, 2020: Even as Odisha has taken a lead to check coronavirus spreading across the state, authorities apprehend more trouble after a man with no foreign travel history tested positive for Covid-19 here.

The state government spokesperson Subrat Bagchi on Friday told media persons that the patient had no foreign travel history. But, he had been to Delhi, Haryana and National Capital Region recently as per preliminary findings.

The state government in phase-1 had primarily focussed on foreign returnees. Subsequently, the surveillance zeroed in on the people coming to Odisha from other states.

With the third confirmed Covid-19 case in the state, the possibility of the Covid-19 outbreak moving into Stage 3 i.e community transmission, cannot be ruled out.

Bagchi termed the third phase as the most sensitive, alarming and critical period when every person needs to take all kinds of care and measures to tackle spread of the virus.

Giving details about the travel and other details of the third coronavirus patient in the state, Bagchi said, “The man travelled to Delhi and Rewari in Haryana between March 7 and 10 with his family. Later, the patient and his family reached Bhubaneswar on IndiGo flight from Delhi on March 10.”

The spokesperson also informed, “He had visited a dispensary of Odisha Assembly on March 16 after he developed Covid-19 symptoms. As he did not recover from the illness, he went to Kar Clinic, near the Assembly, to consult a doctor on March 21. Next day, he was admitted in the private clinic and was in the ICU for pneumonia. On March 24, he was discharged from the hospital.”

“The patient was admitted to the Capital Hospital on March 25. The sample of the person was tested positive on March 26,” Bagchi added saying that the patient’s wife, daughter, driver have been kept in isolation.

Meanwhile, after it was found that the third positive coronavirus patient of Odisha had contact history with Odisha Assembly staff, the Speaker on Friday directed all employees of building to remain in home quarantine.

Patra also instructed the entire Odisha Assembly building to be disinfected. Odisha Assembly will now be functioning from Lok Seva Bhawan’s conference hall with 30 per cent attendance of MLAs to pass the current year’s budget, Patra said.