BHUBANESWAR: A slow yet steady rise in COVID cases has prompted the state health administration to step up surveillance in Odisha. The health department called for increased caution to be adopted by the elderly people and stressed the need to mask up. The state logged two more Covid cases on Wednesday taking the active tally to five in a week. The fresh cases were detected from around 444 samples put to RTPCR and rapid antigen tests in the last 24 hours.
Health department sources said the two persons who tested positive for the SARS-CoV2 virus had mild symptoms. They were double vaccinated with one of them having been administered a booster shot. “They are in home isolation and undergoing treatment. Their condition is normal and they are recovering. A health team entrusted with monitoring them has been asked to find out about their travel history, if any,” said director of health services Dr Bijay Mohapatra.
The state government also increased testing by three times following the detection of three cases in the last three days. The districts stepped up surveillance on influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infection at health facility and community levels.
With the health administration issuing caution for the elderly and people with comorbidities advising them to mask up, people apprehended the spurt in Covid cases may play a spoilsport as the state prepares for the New Year celebrations. The rapid rise in cases in neighbouring Telangana has come as a worry.
The health authorities said they were unsure whether JN.1, the new sub-variant of Omicron, is fueling the infection tally in the state which had zero active cases on December 10. “The samples have been sent to the regional medical research centre (RMRC) for sequencing. However, detection of the new sub-variant in the state may only be a matter of time,” Dr Mohapatra said.
Health experts alerted people coming in from places where JN.1 has been detected to stay home when unwell and minimise contact with other people, especially with seniors and those who are vulnerable. “People with comorbidities, pregnant women, patients with diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems and kidney problems must avoid crowded places and wear face masks in places not well-ventilated. If cases rise further, an advisory may be issued as per the direction of the Centre,” said director of public health Dr Niranjan Mishra.
Meanwhile, health laboratories are set to start sequencing with arrival of samples. While RMRC will sequence the samples from Odisha, the Institute of Life Sciences is also expecting samples from Jharkhand.