BHUBANESWAR: Amid the countrywide surge in Covid infections, the daily cases crossed 100 in Odisha after six months on Friday. The state reported 104 fresh cases in last 24 hours taking the active cases tally to 429. Health department sources said the fresh cases spread across 12 districts were detected from 5,526 samples. This was the highest single-day spike since October 2 last year when the state had recorded 131 cases.
Maximum 29 cases were reported from Nabarangpur, followed by 15 from Cuttack, 14 from Sambalpur, 10 from Sundargarh, nine from Nuapada, eight from Balangir, seven from Khurda, four from Deogarh and three each from Puri and Koraput. The test positivity rate also inched closer to two per cent (pc). With 92 cases, the TPR has recorded 1.5 pc on Wednesday.
Sources said the majority of the active cases are from Nabarangpur, Sundargarh, Sambalpur and Cuttack districts. The spurt in cases in two border blocks - Umerkote and Raighar in Nabarangpur has become a cause of concern for the health administration.
“The district has recorded 50 cases in the last two days and most of the cases are from the two blocks bordering Chhattisgarh. Since the neighbouring state is not disclosing its Covid caseload regularly, we are not sure how the infection is spreading. We have asked the district officials to keep a tab on the melas and festivals being organised in the area and spread awareness,” said a health official.