Only 9 per cent if coronavirus patients above 60 years as Odisha count at 54

BHUBANESWAR: As the COVID-19 positive cases in Odisha stood at 54 till late on Sunday night, the State Government released details of four persons who had tested positive on Saturday. While Patient No. 51, a 67-year-old man from Bisra area of Sundargarh, returned on March 11 in a train after attending the Tablighi Jamaat at New Delhi, the 18-year-old Patient No. 52 had come in contact with a Jamat returnee on March 10.

Similarly, Patient No. 53, a 46-year-old man of Jharpada, is a close relative of Patient No. 42, who recently succumbed to the disease. The case of Patient No. 54, a 17-year-old woman from Rajnagar in Kendrapara district, has raised concern as she appears to have taken a private ambulance from Kolkata to come to her native. This indicates misuse of ambulances to transport people to different places in the lockdown. She had returned on March 29 and was asymptomatic till testing positive.

Meanwhile, even as COVID-19 has been reported from nine districts, the case break-up has put forth some useful data. While the State is yet to go into community transmission stage, the vulnerable age-group of 60 years and above accounts for only nine per cent (pc) of the total cases.

Age-wise analysis of cases revealed that of 54 cases, only five are above 60-year-old, 13 are aged between 41 and 60, 28 are in the age group of 15 to 40 and eight are children between 0-14 years. The gender breakup shows that 35 pc women have been afflicted with the virus in the State against the India average of 24 pc.

As per the district-wise data on spatial distribution of patients released by the Health and Family Welfare department, Khurda has highest 41 positive cases, including one patient from West Bengal. In Khurda, the bulk of cases are from Bhubaneswar.

Although the testing capacity has increased up to 1000 per day since Friday, the State is yet to utilise its full potential. The statistics indicate, highest 408 samples were tested on April 9, followed by 400 on the previous day, 298 and 315 samples were tested on Friday and Saturday. Highest positive cases of 18 and 15 were recorded on April 5 and April 3.