Odisha may see 14,000 cases a day during Covid third wave

BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Monday projected that Odisha may see around 14,000 new cases of coronavirus daily during the peak of Covid-19 third wave, which is likely to hit next month as per a panel of National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM).

The projection came close on the heels of a report submitted by the experts’ panel to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). It warned the daily Covid infections may possibly touch four lakh mark in the country during the third wave. 

Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) Dr CBK Mohanty said if the country reports four lakh cases daily, the number of infections in the State may reach 14,000 a day. “Since children are likely to be affected more along with the adults, we are ramping up infrastructure, including paediatric facilities, medical equipment like ventilators and ambulances and training of doctors and paramedics,” he said.

As per the third wave projection, the peak number will be more than that of the second wave. The State had reported the highest 12,852 cases on May 23 and it took 64 days to reach the peak. The infection then started decreasing gradually. 

Director of Health Services Dr Bijay Mohapatra said as per the projection around 23 per cent (pc) of the infected children will be hospitalised. “The third wave is approaching. We have kept 50 pc of ICU beds ready for children,” he said. 

Health authorities warned people not to lower safety guard like face mask and maintaining social distance which are the only precautionary measures to prevent spread of infection. Vaccination can lower risk of disease severity but can not prevent infection, Dr Mohapatra said.

Meanwhile, Odisha reported 761 new cases including 101 children, taking the State’s tally to 10,01,698. The death toll rose to 7426 with 68 more fatalities announced on Monday. The State has 7,885 active cases and test positivity rate stood at 1.25 pc.

Projection

• Peak number will be more than that of the second wave
• 23 % of the infected children will be hospitalised