COVID testing for Ratha Jatra: 12 test positive for virus

Puri: As many as 12 persons tested positive for COVID-19 during the phase-2 sample testing for Ratha Jatra in Odisha’s Puri town, official sources said today.

Swab samples of 5569 persons involved in the conduct of the festival were collected in the last week while 12 of them tested positive for the virus. All of them have been shifted to COVID hospital. Contact tracing and containment of the area has been done, sources said.

As per the direction of the Supreme Court, only those who test negative for COVID-19 can be a part of the Ratha Jatra festival.

Earlier on June 22, a day before the commencement of Ratha Jatra, a servitor of the Shree Jagannath Temple here had tested positive for the virus.