Covid cases breach 500 mark third time in a week in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR:  Daily Covid-19 cases breached the 500 mark for the third time in one week in Odisha. The state recorded 516 infections in the last 24 hours pushing the active tally past 3,500. 

Sources said the infection is spreading fast in remote and interior areas of the state with people ignoring precautionary measures. The state had recorded 542 infections on April 26 and 502 on April 23. The fresh cases spread across 26 districts were detected from 7,426 samples. While around 18 per cent of the infected people belonged to the 0-18 years age group, nearly 400 are local contacts. 

Health department sources said seven districts - Sundargarh, Cuttack, Nabarangpur, Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj and Nuapada accounted for 75 per cent of the caseload. The districts also have the maximum active cases. The test positivity rate (TPR), however, dropped to 6.9 per cent from 7.15 per cent after testing was stepped up from 5,000 samples a day to over 7,000.

One more patient died in the disease taking the death toll to five this month. The patient, a 75-year-old man from Khurda was suffering from post-tubercular obstructive airway diseases and coronary artery disease. hypertension had died during treatment. 

Director of public health Dr Niranjan Mishra said cases are rising as districts have stepped up testing. “We are monitoring the situation. The deaths are now limited to comorbid people,” he added.