BHUBANESWAR: In the steepest single-day surge so far, Odisha recorded 156 Covid-19 positive cases in the last 24 hours posting a growth rate of eight per cent (pc) over the case load of previous day. As many as 129 cases were reported on Sunday. The growth rate in Odisha is more than national average of 4.82 pc. On a day when the State registered its biggest spike, 119 patients also recovered, highest in a single day so far, achieving a recovery rate of over 59 pc. With the 156 new cases, the total number of affected persons zoomed past 2,000 taking the tally to 2,104.
While the first 1,000 cases were recorded in 66 days in the State that is struggling with influx of migrants, the next 1,100 cases were reported in just 12 days. The fresh cases have been detected from 19 districts with Kendrapara contributing 50 cases alone. Health and Family Welfare department sources said nearly 95 pc cases have been imported from Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. While seven districts in the State have registered more than 100 cases, Ganjam remained worst hit with highest 431 affected persons, followed by Jajpur 280, Balasore 152, Khurda 141, Kendrapara 139, Bhadrak and Cuttack 120 cases each. Rayagada is the only district with no Covid-19 cases. The State recorded its first 500 cases in 59 days and the next 500 in seven days. The number of cases jumped from 1,052 to 1,517 in six days and to 2,104 in five days.