Odisha’s daily spike in COVID-19 cases dropped below 2,000-mark for the first time after two months indicating improvement in the pandemic situation. The State on Monday reported 1,982 cases.
Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India
The last below 2,000 mark was recorded on August 13 when a single-day surge of 1,977 was reported and subsequently, the graph had seen steady rise. On September 26, the highest single-day rise was recorded at 4,356.
The drop in daily spike is attributed to continual decline in tests conducted in Odisha. The State government on Monday said 38,740 tests were conducted during the past 24 hours. The daily tests had once ranged 50,000 to 60,000.
During the past two months, Khordha district emerged as the worst-affected region. It overtook Ganjam, which was initially the epicentre. The situation improved significantly in Ganjam.
State-wise tracker for coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates
The COVID-19 tally increased to 2,70,346 on Monday after recording 1,982 fresh infections. Monday’s reported 17 fatalities pushed the total to 1,152.
Bhubaneswar, which comes under the jurisdiction of Khordha, has so far reported 42,630 cases followed by Cuttack (22,667) and Ganjam (20,044).
Ganjam, however, lost more people than any other district to the virus. While 225 deaths were recorded there, Khordha was found inching closer with 198 deaths.
State Helpline numbers for COVID-19
The COVID-19 managers could draw comfort from the fact that the positivity rate was going down. The State recorded 5.1% positivity rate on Monday while it had once touched 16%. The highest 16.11% positivity rate was reported on July 26 when 1,503 people were found infected while 9,327 tests were conducted.
With the State witnessing improvement, the Puri district administration on Monday opened ‘Swargadwar’ — a holy cremation ground — outside Puri. It, however, put some restrictions like participation by 20 persons who had tested negative for COVID-19. The district administration had closed the ground in the wake of the sudden rise in the cases.