Bhubaneswar: Even as COVID-19 vaccination began Thursday for people above 45 years of age, both India and Odisha registered their steepest hike of new cases in 2021.
While the entire country registered a spike of 72,330 new COVID-19 cases, the figure in Odisha rose to 394. The last time the country reported more than 72,000 infections in a day was October 11, 2020.
An Odisha Health Department official in Bhubaneswar said that 231 of the new cases were in quarantine while the remaining 163 were local contacts. Khurda district with 70 patients topped the list of new infections.
It was followed by Kalhandi (43 fresh infections), Nuapada (40), Bargarh (34) and Cuttack (27). Countrywide the new infections, took India’s total COVID-19 tally to 1,22,21,665 the Union Health Ministry said.
India also reported 459 new fatalities, the highest in a day in 2021. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease in India surged to 1,14,74,683.
The case fatality rate (CFR) has further dropped to 1.33 per cent, the Union Health Ministry data stated.
According to the ICMR, 24,47,98,621 samples have been tested up to March 31 with 11,25,681 samples being tested Wednesday.
In Odisha, the death toll stood at 1,921 as no fresh fatality due to the infection has been reported since Tuesday. Odisha now has 2,246 active cases, and 3,37,091 patients have recovered from the disease.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccination for all people aged 45 years and above commenced Thursday. The vaccination began simultaneously in Odisha also.
More than 6.5 crore vaccine doses have been administered across India so far to frontline workers, healthcare professionals, those above 60 and for people aged above 45 with specified comorbidities.
The Centre also said that vaccination will take place on all days in April including gazetted holidays.
PNN