Cases spike, Odisha's Khurda slips into red zone

Odisha reported 615 new cases, daily infection count went up by around 20 per cent in a day.
A health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a man. (File photo| AP)
A health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a man. (File photo| AP)

BHUBANESWAR: With no enforcement in sight, there is a steady surge in new Covid cases across the State in the last over a week. With the State reporting 615 new coronavirus cases, the daily infection count went up by around 20 per cent in a day.

What has pressed the panic button is that the cases are rising despite the dip in testing. The cases were below the 500 range when the number of tests was around 66,000. The caseload, however, crossed 600 mark even as the testing dropped to 62,000.    

Of the fresh cases detected from 22 districts, 357 were in quarantine and 258 local contacts. It included 68 children and adolescents in the age group of 0-18 years. The rate of infection among children and adolescents now stands at 11.05 per cent.

Khurda continued to be the worst hit as it accounted for over 50 pc of the new cases. The district slipped to the red zone following the spike in new infection. It recorded 322 cases, including 184 from Bhubaneswar, followed by 72 from Cuttack. Eight districts did not register any new cases.    

Director of Medical Education and Training Dr CBK Mohanty said the caseload both in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack remained high due to floating population. “Despite the night curfew from 8 pm in the Twin cities, people are seen moving without masks and social distance. Any further upsurge in the positivity rate would pose problems for the health administration,” he warned.

As the State health authorities attributed the spike in cases to blatant violation of Covid norms, health experts wondered about the inaction of administration against the violators, who are responsible for the spread of the infection.

Meanwhile, the Covid death toll increased to 8,268 after seven more succumbed to the disease. While two deaths each have been reported from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, one each patient died in Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur and Sundargarh. The active cases rose to 4,799.

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