BHUBANESWAR: While the daily infection count of Bhubaneswar recorded an 18 per cent jump with 417 new cases being detected in the last 24 hours, the city’s test positivity rate (TPR) fell to 5.21 per cent in the period.
BMC officials said after reinforcing the micro-containment zone plan in the city, testing has been doubled now with an aim to identify patients and treat them to check transmission. They informed that 7,993 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours ending Wednesday morning and the TPR remained 5.21 per cent, 2.68 per cent less from the previous day’s 7.89 per cent.
Officials said higher testing will not only help the city to detect the infection among suspects early but will also help in bringing down the TPR. Testing in markets has been intensified and samples of all staff and employees of BDA and BMC collected for tests. Of the 350 samples collected from BDA, six tested positive.
Apart from testing, enforcement and vaccination drives have also been ramped up in the city. A day after sealing five liquor shops, the joint enforcement squad of BMC, BDA and City Police sealed four more liquor shops at Baramunda, Naka Gate, Studio Chowm and Nayapalli and collected Rs 37,000 fine from them for carrying out offline sales. Ten shops were also closed at City Women's College road and other parts of the city for violating Covid-19 norms.