BHUBANESWAR: The spike in Coronavirus positive cases in western parts of the State bordering Chhattisgarh has become a major cause of worry for Odisha’s COVID managers given the fact that the border State is currently bearing the brunt of the contagion in its second wave spell.
Three districts Nuapada, Kalahandi and Bargarh have reported the maximum number of positive cases in the past one week, more than the remaining revenue districts.
As per the official data, these districts share borders with Chhattisgarh have reported more than 600 COVID-19 cases in the past one week.
Today Nuapada, Kalahandi and Bargarh registered 154 positive cases, amounting to one/third of positive cases detected in the State in the last 24 hours.
People in border districts in both the States are interdependent and the inter-state movement of locals to carry forward the economic activities is a daily ritual here. Thus transmission of virus from the COVID-affected pockets to Odisha’s bordering districts is a distinct possibility. An educational institute in Bhawanipatna, the district headquarters town of Kalahandi, alone reported more than 35 cases. If reports received here are any indication, the students from Chhattisgarh are enrolled in the educational institute.
With Nuapada reporting the highest number of cases in the past ten days, we are thinking in terms of suspending the bus services between Nuapada and neighbouring Chhattisgarh though the move may result in economic slowdown. Besides it has been decided to declare the affected villages as the micro level containment zones in accordance with the Central guidelines, said a senior official of the State government.
The Nuapada, Kalahandi and Bargarh districts apart, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh also share a border with Chhattisgarh. The district authorities have been asked to maintain surveillance on Chhattisgarh returnees and subject them to COVID test, the official added.
Meanwhile Odisha’s COVID-19 tally mounted to 3,41,772 on Friday as 461 more people tested positive for the infection, the highest single-day rise so far this year, a health department official said.
The State has been reporting more than 200 fresh cases for nine days in a row. The active cases have jumped to 2,586 with today’s steep jump in positive cases. The positivity rate of 30,716 samples tested in 24 hours stood at 1.50per cent.
The state government, which has set a target to inoculate 2 lakh people daily from Thursday, could vaccinate 2,03,162 people including beneficiaries of 45 years old and above, he said. The state commenced the COVID-19 vaccination for all people aged 45 years and above from Thursday. Yesterday 2,03,162 people were vaccinated on the first day against the state’s target of 2 lakh vaccination per day. So far, the state has already vaccinated more than 26 lakh beneficiaries as on April 1.
Despite the daily spike in infections, the state’s coronavirus death toll continues to remain static at 1,921 with no fresh fatality reported in the past 24 hours. This apart, 53 other COVID-19 patients have died in the state due to comorbidities. Since the past fortnight, only two persons have succumbed to Coronavirus.
The case fatality rate (CFR) currently stands at 0.56% in Odisha in comparison to national average of 1.33% CFR. 66% are men while the remaining 34% are women.
Meanwhile Malkangiri is the lone district in the State to be ‘coronavirus free’ as no active case exists there.
The State’s recovery rate currently stands at 98.66% with as many as 3,37,212 patients cured of the disease so far while the country’s recovery rate currently stands at 93.68%. Odisha currently has 2,586 active cases, which account for 0.75% of total positive cases registered in the State. At present the country has 5% active cases out of the total caseload.
The State’s share is 2.88% in the country’s confirmed virus caseload while the active cases are 0.62% of India’s total active cases. The number of cured patients accounts for 2.99% of the country’s total recovery. Odisha has so far reported 1.19% of the country’s Coronavirus deaths.
The state has so far tested 91,03,948 samples for COVIOD-19 including 30,716 on Thursday while Odisha’s cumulative positivity rate is 3.75 per cent.
More Stories
NDA as 15 in Northeast’s 25 seats go to polls: PM
Not Big Fan Impact Player; Its Development of All-Rounders, Says Rohit
Modi will come with hope in 2024: PM