ROURKELA/BHAWANIPATNA: A third wave seems imminent with an alarming rise in Covid cases being reported across the State.
Sundargarh district on Tuesday reported 69 new infections, highest in several months after the deadly second wave. Notably, 13 new cases emerged on the campus of National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R) on the day taking the total number of cases in the institute to 23. In-charge Director of NIT-R Prof Simanchal Panigrahi is among the infected persons.
As per official records, the test positivity rate has also jumped up significantly to 2.9 per cent from the usual level of below 0.5 per cent. For the first time in several months, active cases also crossed the 150 mark to 191.
Incidentally, vaccination for teenagers in 15-18 age group on Monday received lukewarm response, as only 6,309 received the jabs against target of 14,500.
Sundargarh chief district medical officer Dr SK Mishra said with rising positive cases in Odisha, the district is also witnessing a similar pattern due to unrestricted domestic movement. The focus of the government is to ensure strict Covid safety protocols without affecting livelihoods.
Kalahandi district too witnessed a similar rise in infections with 12 new cases being reported on the day. There are 31 active cases in the district as of now.
CDMO Dr Ranjan Mitra said field staff have been alerted to monitor the situation and continue contact tracing, vaccination, testing and door to door surveillance.
However, complacency was still seen among people as they crowded market places and social gatherings defying the appeal of the administration.