BHUBANESWAR: Even as the new COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, Delhi and Kerala have declined, Odisha continued to witness the surge as 1,130 people, including 143 children and adolescents, tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.
This was for the fourth consecutive day that the State recorded more than 1,000 infections in the on-going fourth wave. As many as 1,178 cases were reported on Friday, 1,196 on Thursday and 1,122 on Wednesday.
The cases that had come down from 1,065 on July 16 to 816 on July 18 again soared to over 1,000 a day as the infections spread to more areas and covered all 30 districts.
Of the fresh cases, 468 were local contacts and 662 were in quarantine. With more than 100 infections each, four districts - Khurda, Cuttack, Sundargarh and Sambalpur - accounted for over 55 per cent (pc) of the caseload.
As the number of cases in Khurda came down marginally, Sundargarh topped the infection tally with 225 cases. Khurda recorded 209 cases, followed by 111 from Cuttack and 106 from Sambalpur. The test positivity rate (TPR), however, dropped to 4.85 pc from over 5 pc a day before as testing was increased to 23,314.
Eight districts recorded a TPT of more than 5 pc while the positivity rate in Sambalpur stood at highest 18.89 pc. It was 9.68 pc in Sonepur, 9.76 pc in Nuapada, 8.94 pc in Sundargarh and 9.51 pc in Mayurbhanj.
"The TPR in some of the districts is high due to less number of tests. The CDMOs have been asked to ramp up testing. We have to monitor the situation till mid August," Director of Health Services Dr Bijay Mohapatra said.