BHUBANESWAR: Even as the new COVID-19 cases dropped from 11,607 to 10,368 and the test positivity rate (TPR) from 16.7 per cent (pc) to 13.9 pc in last 24 hours, Odisha has been placed at eighth position among the states and UTs in terms of high active cases.
With 79,875 active cases, Odisha is among the top-10 states which are having the maximum number of patients under treatment. The other states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi and Rajasthan.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that although six are 'states of concern', the Centre is continuously monitoring the situation in states having more than 50,000 active cases. The drop in cases and TPR notwithstanding, fatalities rose as seven patients succumbed to the disease, the highest in a day in the third wave so far.
Among the deceased, aged 19 to 96 years, five including one woman, were from Khurda district (four from Bhubaneswar) and one each from Ganjam and Sambalpur. All barring an 84-year-old man from the city were suffering from other comorbid conditions.
The State has recorded 1,22,330 cases and 39 deaths in the first 20 days of the month. Nine districts accounted for 67 pc of the caseload. Khurda topped the list with 3,036 cases, followed by Sundargarh (1,505), Cuttack (940), Balasore (303), Jajpur (290), Balangir (253) and Sambalpur (247).
As per the Ministry of Health statistics, 13 districts from Odisha are among 371 districts of the country with a weekly TPR of over 10 pc during the January 13-19 period. The TPR was highest 33.77 pc in Khurda, 29.37 pc in Balasore, 27.35 pc in Sundargarh, 18.1 pc in Mayurbhanj, 17 pc in Kalahandi, 16.82 pc in Cuttack and 15 pc in Rayagada.
The State health authorities, however, claimed the decline in new cases as a positive sign, but cautioned that there should not be any laxity in terms of Covid appropriate behaviour.
Director of Health Services Dr Bijay Mohapatra said the number of infections has come down despite around 5,000 more tests as compared to the previous day. Districts have been alerted to ramp up testing as per the Centre’s fresh directive. Hopefully, the situation will improve soon, he added.