The East Singhbum administration has started asking for daily reports on visitors from hotels, guesthouses and lodges, and set up checkpoints at district and state borders to counter the novel coronavirus threat.

“Separate teams have been constituted for areas under Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) and Jugsalai municipality,” said additional district magistrate (law and order), Nand Kishore Lal. “The objective is to identify any visitor either from abroad or from other states with novel coronavirus symptoms so that steps can be taken as per health ministry protocols.”

City manager Ravi Shankar Bharti inspected hotels, clubs and lodges in Jamshedpur and submitted a report to JNAC special officer Krishna Kumar. MNAC city manager Nishant Kumar submitted a report to Deepak Sakay, special officer, MNAC. Hotels and guesthouses along Tatanagar Station Road and Jugsalai were inspected by Jugsalai city manager Rajendra Kumar, who submitted his report submitted to Jagdish Prasad Yadav, special officer, Jugsalai municipality.

“We might carry out random checking to ensure that there is not mismatch in terms of information on the part of the hotel. Action might be taken as per law if there is any violation as the government has notified Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897,” said Lal.

The district administration has activated inter-district and inter-state check-points at 12 locations.

“The senior superintendent of police will be deploying forces at each of the check points while the district administration will depute magistrate and the district civil surgeon (Dr Maheshwar Prasad) will be deputing health officials for checking commuters specially for any flu-like symptoms so that they can be put under surveillance,” said Lal.

The check-points will be activated from Wednesday at Jagannathpur and Kaliadia (both in Baharagora), Chakulia (for those from Odisha and Bengal), Ghurabandha (bordering Odisha), Bodam and Patamda (Bengal), Potka and Hata (Odisha), Pardih (from NH-33), New Domuhani Bridge (NH-33), Adityapur Toll Bridge and Ghatshila.

East Singhbhum DC Ravi Shankar Shukla along with civil surgeon Dr Prasad on Tuesday inspected isolation wards set up in six hospitals.

“Setting up of isolation wards at Tata Main Hospital, Tata Motors Hospital, Tinplate Hospital, Mercy Hospital, in addition to the isolation wards existing at MGM Hospital and Sadar Hospital, has taken the total beds to 39 in the district,” Shukla said.

Dr Prasad said biomedical waste treatment facility set up by Ramky Enviro Management International Limited at Sini Mor in Seraikela-Kharsawan would handle bio-medical waste of novel coronavirus cases. Long-distance bus operators have been instructed to ensure proper cleaning using sanitizers in buses.