234 new cases from 23 districts in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: The Covid-19 tally surged to 3,39,694 in Odisha after 234 more people tested positive for the virus in last 24 hours.The new cases were over 200 for the second day in a row prompting the State government to ban large congregations during religious festivals. As many as 214 cases were detected on Wednesday.The fresh cases were spread across 23 districts with Nuapada reporting the maximum 33 followed by Khurda (32), Cuttack (29), Bargarh (24), Kalahandi (17), Balangir (15), Sundargarh (15) and Sambalpur (11).

Earlier this month, the Union Health Ministry had flagged 10 districts in the State which continued to be of concern due to decrease in total tests, low share of RT-PCR tests and increase in weekly positivity besides low number of contact tracing of the positive cases. The districts, which have been reporting cases in two digits now, were among the list of 10 districts. The test positivity rate (TPR) rose to 0.81 per cent (pc) from 0.69 pc a day back as only 28,662 tests were conducted on Thursday. 

The TPR is expected to rise further as a number of new clusters has emerged in the city with students from several educational institutions testing positive for the virus. The death toll remained at 1,919 as there was no fresh fatality since March 22. The number of active cases stands at 1,240.

3 students of IIT-BBS test positive

Bhubaneswar: Three students of Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar have tested positive for Covid-19. The students had returned to the State between March 20 and 22. They are suspected to have been infected for not following the Covid safety protocols. They have been kept in isolation for treatment, said officials. Meanwhile, three more students of Ravenshaw University tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. With this, the total number of positive cases increased to six.