BHUBANESWAR: Odisha on Sunday logged 492 new Covid cases, the lowest daily count in last one-and-a-half months. On January 3, the State had reported 424 cases indicating the beginning of the third wave.
The cases had soared to 680 the next day and 1,216 the day after before hitting the peak on January 19 with 11,607 cases. While it took only 19 days for the cases to peak, the fall in numbers was slowed down allegedly due to erratic testing strategy.
Of the new cases, 122 were in the 0-18 years age group. More than half of the districts in the State recorded cases in single digit and Khurda which had registered over 1,000 cases for nearly 20 days, reported only 45 infections in the last 24 hours. Among the districts recording maximum cases, Sundargarh topped the chart with 96 infections followed by Rayagada (45), Sambalpur (38), Jajpur (36) and Cuttack (32).
The overall test positivity rate (TPR) also dropped to 0.8 per cent, the lowest since the beginning of the wave. Barring Rayagada (3.1 per cent), Sundargarh (2.4 per cent), Gajapati (2.1 per cent), Jajpur (1.4 per cent), Koraput (1.3 per cent) and Nayagarh and Khurda (1.2 per cent), the TPR in all other districts was below one per cent.
The number of tests that had gone down to 50,000 on Friday from a range of 70,000 increased to 60,000 on Saturday after the districts were asked to maintain the target till the end of the month irrespective of the positivity rate. All districts are now in Green zone as the active cases fell below the 6,000-mark with the rate of recovery inching close to 99 per cent. Of the 12.82 lakh confirmed cases so far, 12.68 lakh patients have recovered and the active cases stand at 5,259.
The fatalities, however, continue to remain in double digits with 17 more succumbing to the disease pushing the cumulative toll to 9,011. The deceased, aged 34 to 85 years, included seven from Sundargarh district, six from Balasore, two from Ganjam, and one each from Kalahandi and Puri.
Director of Health Services Dr Bijay Mohapatra said though the cases are falling steadily, there should not be any complacency in practicing Covid appropriate behavior. “We have to keep a close watch for the next two weeks,” he added.