BHUBANESWAR: A day after the State government allowed participation of students in Independence Day parade, the Centre on Friday directed states, including Odisha, that have been reporting high Covid cases to ensure there are no large gatherings during the I-Day celebrations.
While alerting about the emergence of sub-lineages Omicron variant that are behind the recent Covid surge, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the states to avoid large congregations in the ceremony.
“Apart from avoiding large gatherings, it is imperative that Covid guidelines are followed. The At Home function also needs to be restricted and confined within the achievers of different fields,” the MHA guideline states.
The Ministry has also conveyed to carry out a ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign at prominent locations of each district and carry out a fortnight and month-long campaign to keep it ‘Swachh’ through voluntary civil action.
The Covid-19 infection that has slowed down in Odisha with the new cases coming down from a range of over 1,000 to below 500, saw an uptick as the State recorded 583 cases as against 487 infections a couple of days back.
Though the growth in infection rate has dropped in Khurda and Cuttack, it is still rising in Sundargarh that continues to report more than 100 cases a day. A maximum of 137 cases were registered in Sundargarh, followed by 77 in Khurda, 40 in Mayurbhanj, 39 in Kalahandi, 36 in Balangir and 38 in Nuapada.
The test positivity rate (TPR) also rose marginally from three per cent to 3.39 pc following the rise in cases. Boudh and Sonepur have the highest TPR of 17.9 pc each while it was 9.8 in Kalahandi and 8.3 in Sundargarh.
The active cases stood at 3,563 following recovery of 844 patients. Director of Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra said the Covid situation is in a plateau state but it can not be predicted that the cases will not rise again. “The infection is on an upward spiral in Delhi after a drop in cases last month. We have to remain prepared and avoid large unnecessary congregations,” he added.