COVID-19: Biggest single-day spike in Odisha yet again as 4,761 fresh cases recorded

BHUBANESWAR: The COVID-19 surge continued in Odisha as the state recorded yet another highest single-day spike of 4761 cases in the last 24 hours. The pandemic took five more lives during this period.

The fresh cases spread across 30 districts included 2785 from quarantine and 1976 local infections. The number of infections crossed the 500-mark in three districts with Khurda registering a whopping 820 cases, followed by Sundargarh (673) and Nuapada (534).

Nine other districts reported over 100 cases each and eight others had above 50 cases each. As many as 322 fresh cases were detected in Balangir, 234 in Jharsuguda, 198 in Bargarh, 193 in Puri, 183 in Sambalpur, 176 in Cuttack, 167 in Kalahandi, 154 in Nabarangpur and 103 in Keonjhar.

Ten Chhattisgarh border districts where Odisha government has imposed night curfew from 6 pm to 5 am along with weekend shutdown logged 2502 cases contributing nearly 52% cases to the daily tally. The migrants from the worst-hit states continued to fuel the number of infections in Khurda, Cuttack and Puri districts.

The test positivity rate shot up to 14.71% from 12.28% a day before taking the tally to 3,77,464. The state conducted 32,349 tests, including 40% through RT-PCR. Five persons, including three women, aged 38, 60 and 80 from Nuapada districts and two men, aged 47 and 52 from Rayagada and Keonjhar, succumbed to the disease pushing the toll to 1953. While 3,47,637 people have recovered so far, 27821 patients are in hospital and home isolation.

At least 23 pilgrims, who had recently returned from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela, have tested positive. They have been isolated and the test reports of 10 others are awaited.

Sources said samples of 30 returnees were sent for RT-PCR test after they landed at Cuttack on Monday and 13 among them were found to be infected with the virus.

Similarly, 10 people of Rayagada district have tested positive after their arrival from Uttarakhand. A group of 29 people had returned from Kumbh Mela on Sunday. Ten among them tested positive through rapid antigen kits at the railway station. The samples of the rest have been sent for RT-PCR test, said an official.

A man from Ganjam district died on the Ahmedabad-Puri Express while returning from Gujarat on Monday night. The deceased -- Biswanath Jena of Khanduali village -- was suffering from diabetes. While the cause of death was yet to be ascertained, the government railway police said the body has been sent from postmortem and the samples of three co-passengers, residents of another village in the district, have
been collected and sent for a COVID-19 test.

Meanwhile, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has banned entry of people to all religious institutions in the city. In an order, the civic body authority, however, made it clear that servitors and priests will conduct daily rituals by wearing masks and maintaining due social distancing.