Virus toll goes past 3K-mark 

BHUBANESWAR: With 41 more patients succumbing to Covid-19, the cumulative death toll in Odisha surpassed 3,000 mark on Monday. The State also logged 6,118 new cases pushing the tally to 8,19,214.Health department sources said 23 among the deceased were without comorbidities, 11 were women and 10 people aged less than 45 years. Six deaths were from Khurda, four from Sundargarh, three each from Puri and Ganjam and two each from Sambalpur, Sonepur, Puri, Mayurbhanj, Jharsuguda, Jajpur and Bargarh districts. 

With this, the total number of fatalities rose to 3,035. Ten districts recorded more than 100 deaths. The highest 501 people fell to the disease in Khurda, 292 in Ganjam, 288 in Sundargarh, 184 in Cuttack, 160 in Puri, 135 in Kalahandi, 132 in Angul, 118 in Rayagada, 109 in Balasore and 102 in Mayurbhanj. After a long time, Khurda slipped to number three in the chart of new cases with only 495 fresh infections as Cuttack reported the maximum 640 cases followed by Jajpur (563) and Angul (416). 

This is the first time in the two months of the second wave of the pandemic Khurda district, including Bhubaneswar, reported less than 500 daily caseload. Though new cases are declining in most of the districts, Jajpur, Angul and Puri have been witnessing a rising trend.The State had conducted tests of 67,178 samples, nearly 4,795 less than that of the previous day, but the positivity rate was further down to 9.1 per cent (pc) from 9.7 pc a day before. The fresh cases fell below 7,000 after more than a month. 

Director of Health Services Dr Bijay Mohapatra said Odisha will witness a further fall in the rate of Covid infections in next 10 days. On the rising fatalities, he claimed people with severe ARDS and critically-ill are succumbing to the disease. “Nearly 60 pc of critical patients are still under hospitalisation. They are losing the battle against the virus due to their serious health conditions,” he said. The State has 68,321 active cases now as 7,47,805 patients, including 8,429 on Monday, have recovered.