Odisha reports 316 new cases in past 24 hours, Daily TPR dips to 0.49 pc

Bhubaneswar : The daily positivity rate in Odisha further dipped to 0.49 per cent as out of 64,651 tests conducted in the past 24 hours,316 tested covid positive taking the tally in the state to 10,41,773.

Health and Family Welfare department sources said out of 316 new cases,186 were reported from the quarantine centres and 130 were local contact cases.

At least 16.3 per cent of the total cases were found in the age group of 0 to 18 years and Khordha district registered the highest number of 152 cases, about 48.1 per cent followed by Cuttack ( 32) and Mayrubhanj(28 )

Sources said eight of the total 30 districts in the state reported no covid cases in the past 24 hours.

Three more covid deaths. One each in Angul, Balasore and Ganjam district, were reported in the past 24 hours during the health audit pushing the total fatalities in the state to 8336.

The recoveries in the state surged to 10,29,147 ( 98.7 per cent) as 450 patients were cured of the virus on Sunday.

The daily test positivity rate of Khordha district in the past 24 hours recorded 2.3 per cent, the highest in the state while 21 other districts registered less than one per cent and eight districts have zero TPR.

The active cases in the state further reduced to 4237 of which Khordha district alone accounted for 1997, about 47.13 per cent of the total active cases in the state.

The Odisha government had decided to continue the night curfew from 10 PM to 5 AM in all the urban areas in the state during November. There would be no weekend shutdown in the state.

During the unlock period all shops and business establishments will remain open from 5 AM to 10 PM.

State Relief Commissioner P K Jena said all the religious festivals and other festive occasions would be celebrated as per the government’s directive issued on August 9 last.

The state government is also contemplating opening the classes from I to VII across the state after Diwali in a phased manner.

State School and Mass Education minister Samir Ranjan Dash said the government will soon take a decision on the reopening of classes from I to VII.

However, a final decision in this regard will be taken by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, taking into consideration the prevailing covid situation in the state, he hinted.

The government has already allowed the physical mode of classes from standards IX to XII across the state which were suspended for more than one and a half years due to the covid pandemic.

The school and college authorities have been instructed to strictly follow all covid guidelines during the physical mode of classes.