BHUBANESWAR: The focus now shifted to rural areas of Khurda district where the spread of infection has emerged again as a major concern. The district continued to report the highest number of cases in the State. Of the 902 infections reported from the district in the last 24 hours, 576 were from rural Khurda.
Sources said the spread of infection in Jatni, Khurda Sadar, Begunia, Bolagarh and Tangi blocks of the district continues to remain a headache for the local administration. As Covid-19 cases surge so do worries about how to contain the spread of the disease that is spreading inexorably through Odisha, initially in urban centres and now increasingly into the hinterland where medical infrastructure is scarce.
Though all measures were taken to prevent the spread of virus in rural areas, frequent visit of people from these areas to Bhubaneswar, the worst Covid-hit city in the State, remains an area of concern, sources added. Poor number of test is another reason to worry. While around 5,000 tests were conducted in the Capital City on September 23 and 24, the number in rural areas of Khurda remained less than half of it.
Khurda Collector Sanat Kumar Mohanty said the situation is still under control and focus is on containing spread by increasing the testing capacity. The number of cases in the district has crossed beyond 35,000 mark. The State Capital with a total of 20,538 confirmed infections has contributed maximum to the district tally.
Of the new cases reported in the Capital in the last 24 hours, 257 were related to local transmission. Nayapalli area reported highest 16 local cases on the day followed by Chandrasekharpur (12) and Salia Sahi (11). The city also reported four more fatalities due to the infection, pushing the Covid death toll to 84.