BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Friday asked officials of districts bordering Chhattisgarh to keep a track on people coming from the neighbouring state and test them for Covid-19 if they show symptoms. The direction came after two bordering blocks of Nabarangpur witnessed a spurt in cases in last two weeks. A team of health officials led by director of public health Dr Niranjan Mishra visited Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangapur to review Covid preparedness.
“People in the bordering areas frequent the daily and weekly markets of both the states. Since there is a spike in cases in Chhattisgarh, bordering areas in Odisha have also seen a significant rise in infections. District officials have been asked to keep a tab on the movement of people,” he said.
Odisha witnessed a surge in Covid cases as the state reported 431 new infections in last 24 hours, taking the tally to 2411. Though no death has been reported for last five days, the daily test positivity rate has soared to 6.13 per cent. The weekly TPR in three districts has gone above 15 per cent. Subarnapur recorded a TPR of 20.84 per cent, followed by 18.48 per cent in Sundargarh and 15.38 per cent in Nuapada.
“Hospitalisation and death rate have drastically reduced this time. During the peak time last year, we had been detecting around 1200 infections every day, but now the cases are 300 to 400 a day. People have to remain cautious and take preventive measures as the growing trend may continue for a couple of days more,” Dr Mishra added.