BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Saturday reduced the isolation norms to seven days if a Covid patient has no fever for three consecutive days.
Updating on the Covid situation in the State, Director of Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra said a Covid patient’s isolation period will be considered as complete if there is no fever for three days. However, the patient has to self-monitor the health condition for another week, he said.
“A positive person had the potential to infect others during the incubation period of 10 days in the first and second waves of the pandemic which is why people were asked to remain in isolation for 14 days. As per latest studies, the transmission period of the virus has come down to five-six days now. Accordingly, the isolation has been reduced to a week,” Dr Mishra told mediapersons.
He advised patients to immediately consult doctors in case of recurrent fever after five-six days. There is no need to use antibiotics and unnecessary drugs if there are no symptoms, he added.
Meanwhile, the fresh cases and TPR in Odisha dropped to 8,845 and 12.8 per cent (pc) respectively from the high of 11,607 and 16.7 pc recorded on January 19.
The caseload has come down in the hotspot districts, including Khurda, which topped the chart with 2,528 new cases, followed by 1,001 cases from Sundargarh, 628 from Cuttack, 290 from Balasore, 239 from Kalahandi, 232 from Balangir and 221 from Rayagada.
Some districts like Nuapada, Sonepur and Koraput, however, saw a rise in cases as the infection spread to interior pockets. These districts recorded more than 200 cases each. The active cases stood at 76,806 after recovery of 11,344 patients.
Seven more patients, aged 47 to 65 years, succumbed to the disease taking the cumulative death toll to 8,514. Four among them were women. The deceased included two persons with no comorbidity.
As per a recent study by SBI research group, Odisha is among six states where the rural share in new Covid cases was higher compared to urban localities. The rural share of new cases in the State was 61 pc against 39 pc in urban areas.