BHUBANESWAR: Odisha reported five new Covid cases in last 24 hours, but the rise in test positivity rate from 0.1 per cent in December third week to 1.7 per cent has triggered concern.
Health department sources said, the fresh cases have been detected from among 295 samples tested during the period. They, however, attributed the rise in positivity rate to a drop in testing.
The number of tests has dropped from a range of around 600 to less than 300.
Districts not adhering to the earlier instruction have been flagged and asked to step up testing as per protocol. After the recovery of one patient, the number of active cases stood at 24.
Director of Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra said only one person has been hospitalised and the other 23 are under treatment in home isolation. “The elderly person with comorbidities has been admitted to a hospital and his condition is improving. We have been constantly appealing to comorbid people and elderly persons to remain cautious and wear face masks while going out,” he said.
The JN.1 sub-variant, however, is yet to be detected in Odisha. The result of first phase genome sequencing is expected in next two days.