After months of terror caused by an increasing tally of covid-19 cases courtesy to the second wave, some sense of relief is due. The Health Department on Sunday informed that the infection curve in the State has crossed its peak and started to decline.
Additional Chief Secretary of Health Department, Pradeepta Mohapatra informed that the State has so far witnessed its highest single-day tally in Covid infections on May 22 with the detection of a record 12852 positive cases in a day. Since then, there has been a steady decline in the number of cases of SARS-n-CoV-2.
Mohapatra explained that less testing in the wake of Cyclone ‘Yaas’ scare in several districts has been restored to its usual capacity and it’s speculated that the districts have reported considerably lesser cases.
That would mean that the State has crossed its peak of the second Covid wave on May 22. The ACS cited today’s figures in support of his arguments and mentioned that despite increasing the number of tests to around 66K samples per day, the total number of positives detected today was 9541.
Overall, the State’s positivity has come down to 14% at present. In terms of the district-wise situation, Mohapatra said that TPR is on a declining trend in 19 districts with positivity slumping to as low as below 5% in 5 districts.
As far as caseload is concerned, nine districts namely Khordha, Cuttack, Angul, Sundargarh, Puri, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bargarh account for around 60% of total infections.
Mahapatra also expressed his relief over the declining positivity rate in neighbouring states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand as Odisha is bordering districts with these States.
Meanwhile, in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, even though the number of cases is reducing but there are still concerns and so the respective borders have been sealed.
The ACS further said that the hospitalisation of critical patients is also on a downward trend in the State.
He also commended Odisha’s dedication for helping its other counterparts even during cyclone ‘Yaas’. The state so far has provided around 25000 tonnes of oxygen to as many as 18 other States.
By Ankita Mohanty
