BHUBANESWAR: A day after Odisha entered Unlock 4, lifting almost all restrictions, the State Capital recorded its highest single-day spike of 541 new cases pushing the Covid-19 tally of the city to 11, 273. The death toll also mounted to 44 after two more patients succumbed in the last 24 hours.
As many as 321 persons have been tested positive for the virus from unknown sources, while remaining 220 persons, including 23 persons from private hospitals and nine persons from the Utkal University campus, have been tested positive while undergoing home quarantine.
With all Government and private establishments thrown open, the biggest challenge civic body facing at present is the outbreak of cases in Government establishments that are at the helm of managing the situation. At least 16 police staff, who were in quarantine, tested positive, and 11 bank employees too were found infected.
BMC statistics suggest that the Covid-19 spread in the Government and private establishments have increased manifold in the recent weeks. At least 35 persons in Lok Seva Bhawan and Kharvela Bhawan and 27 in Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) have been tested positive as of September 1, while 25 positive cases have been detected in SBI Main Branch and 15 in Odisha Hydro Power Corporation.
Similarly, nine persons in State Assembly, six in Odisha State Housing Board, 15 in tehsil, sub-registrar and sub-collector’s office and five in tourism office have also been found infected so far. Close to 90 police personnel from Commissionerate Police and 35 staff of Special Intelligence Wing have also been infected with the virus till date.
Around 23 staff from BMC and BDA have also contracted the virus, while one enforcement officer succumbed.
Hotels, private firms and industrial units including Swosti Premium, Hotel Crown, Aditya Birla Fashion, Tech Mahindra have also reported several cases of Covid-19 in July and August.
With the spike graph continuing to surge, the number of active cases in the city has increased to 4,282.