ROURKELA: Body count is spiking in Sundargarh which is one of the epicenters of the second wave of Covid in Odisha. As many as 14 Covid patients, who succumbed in the last three days, were cremated and buried on the day.
Though the administration maintained a stoic silence, cremation grounds are now seeing a rush. While 11 bodies were cremated at Vedvyas, three were buried at Khatkurbahal and elsewhere in Sundargarh district.
Of the deceased, one had died on Wednesday; six succumbed on Thursday and seven on Friday at JP, Shanti Memorial and Ispat General hospitals here. They belonged to Civil Township, Balughat, Panposh, Chhend Colony and Naya Bazar of Rourkela besides Khatkurbahal of Kutra block.
Sources said though around 34 bodies have been cremated and buried following Covid-19 protocols since March 26, the dashboard of the State government continues to put the death toll at 174, the figure which was last updated on January 25. As the virus continues its surge, the situation in Sundargarh seems to be going from bad to worse as the tribal-dominated district reported another staggering surge of 523 new cases on Friday.
With addition of the new cases including 280 from Rourkela, the active case tally of Sundargarh has reached a record high of 3,295 which is almost three times the first wave peak. What is worrying is the Test Passivity Rate (TRP), which was 19.37 per cent on Friday. Since April 9, the TPR is climbing. Health officials attributed the high infection rate to the new strain of coronavirus, which coupled with comorbidities of infected patients, is causing the deaths. Amid the surge in infection, recoveries are 6 to 10 times below the new cases, thereby stretching the Covid healthcare system to the limits.
Meanwhile, Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) Commissioner Dibyajyoti Parida ordered setting up of two micro-containment zones at B Block of Sector-20 and H Block of Sector-1 for contact tracing and preventing the virus spread. As of now, there are seven micro-containment zones in the rest of the district and two are likely to be declared on Saturday.
In a Twitter post, Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan informed that vaccination drive would remain suspended at Rourkela, Rajgangpur, Sundargarh and Birmitrapur towns on Saturday and Sunday owing to the weekend curfew. However, the drive will continue in the rural pockets uninterrupted.
Chief district medical officer Dr SK Mishra said adequate hospital beds are available for Covid patients. More hospital beds and institutional quarantine facilities are being readied. Except Rourkela, around 60 rapid response teams have been engaged to monitor condition of positive patients in isolation across Sundargarh.
Cops intensify Covid-19 enforcement
Rourkela: Intensifying enforcement of Covid-19 guidelines, Rourkela police in the last 24 hours sealed six shops and collected a fine of `78,800 from persons not wearing masks. Police said four shops at Uditnagar and two at Plant Site were sealed for violating norms. Besides, another shop in Bonai was also sealed. Strict checking of persons seeking to enter Sundargarh from Jharkhand is underway while a strict vigil is being kept at Mahipani of Bisra block. Police personnel have been deployed at vegetable and other markets to maintain physical distance among customers.