BHUBANESWAR: As active Covid cases continued to rise for the past one week, Odisha government on Tuesday appealed to vaccinated people to come forward for tests if they develop any symptom instead of becoming super spreaders.
Speaking to media persons, Director of Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra said the old strategy of 3T - testing, tracing, and treatment - is necessary to prevent the third wave, which looks imminent in view of recent spikes in different countries.
“Vaccinated people, who think they are immune to infection, are committing mistakes. The cases are increasing in some localities because some of the vaccinated people are not going for tests despite coming in contact with positive patients and having symptoms,” he reasoned.
The Health authorities have also urged people not to get confused with the symptoms of flu, influenza and Covid-19 as seasonal flu and viral outbreaks are generally reported during the winter months of October to December.
Even as the severity of viral infection is not as high as Covid, Dr Mishra said, people should not neglect if they develop flu-like symptoms and immediately go for tests to get it confirmed that they have not contracted coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the State reported 433 new cases, including 64 of those below 18-year-old, in the last 24 hours taking the tally to 10,39,269. With 207 cases, Khurda accounted for nearly 50 per cent (pc) of the daily caseload.
More than 70 pc of the cases of the coastal district were from Bhubaneswar and over 80 per cent among them were fully vaccinated. Four more patients, including a 92-year-old man from Bhubaneswar and two from Mayurbhanj succumbed to the disease pushing the death toll to 8,316.