BHUBANESWAR: In a massive surge, Odisha reported 1699 new Covid-19 positive cases, the biggest single-day spike, in the last 24 hours taking the State’s tally to 40,717. Eleven more patients also succumbed during the period.
The fresh cases spread across 29 of the 30 districts included 12 employees of the health and family welfare department and Khurda SP Ajay Pratap Swain. He is the first SP rank officer in the State to have infected with the coronavirus.
According to the State dashboard, five districts recorded more than 100 new positive cases with worst-hit Ganjam registering the highest 268 infections, followed by Khurda (220), Sundargarh (178), Cuttack (105), and Sambalpur (101).
Sources said 12 employees, including a joint secretary and deputy secretary in the health department, were detected with coronavirus infection. Swab samples of the employees were collected after a finance officer, who had recently joined the department, tested positive.
One section of the department has been sealed till Monday after the test result came. Swab samples of other officials, who had come in contact with the employees testing positive, will be tested.
Additional Chief Secretary of the department PK Mohapatra said all employees of the section have been asked to self-isolate and inform if they develop symptoms. “All other employees have been asked to work from home through the dedicated virtual private network,” he said.
Similarly, swab samples of Khurda SP and some of his staff were sent for tests after one employee tested positive for the novel coronavirus a few days back. He said his swab report has come out positive. The district police chief is now in home isolation.
Meanwhile, 11 Covid-19 patients died in the State taking the death toll to 280. While 10, including three from Ganjam, two from Sundargarh and one each from Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Nabarangpur, Bhadrak succumbed to coronavirus, another 54-year-old woman of Ganjam died due to carcinoma gallbladder, septic shock, and hepatic encephalopathy.
The health department, however, attributed the death of 235 persons to Covid-19 and the rest 45 to other underlying diseases.
Along with the worst-hit Ganjam, Khurda and Cuttack, the rise in the number of new infections in Sundargarh and Sambalpur in the past two days has become a cause of concern for the administration in the western Odisha districts.
Although Ganjam tops the list of districts with maximum of 12,080 positives, the daily cases are on the decline. The daily growth rate in its neighbouring Gajapati, which is fourth-worst affected district, has also come down.
Ganjam Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said Covid-19 is on a declining trend in the district. While testing has increased in the last 10 days, the number of new positive cases is reducing. Door to door campaign has helped us tracking the cases, he said.
Kulange urged people not to hide symptoms and come forward for testing. “Everybody has to contribute in the fight against the pandemic by strictly adhering to the guidelines. August may prove to be a challenging period in our fight against the pandemic,” he observed.