Single-day spike of 561 COVID-19 cases in Odisha, tally rises to 8,106

Odisha on Friday reported its highest single-day spike of 561 COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 8,106, while the death toll climbed to 29 with two more fatalities, a health department official said.

Two men, aged 66 and 40, died of the disease at a COVID hospital in Ganjam district, he said.

"Regret to report the demise of two COVID positive patients. One was suffering from hypertension and the other was a diabetic patient. They died during treatment," the health department official said.

Of the 29 deaths in the state, Ganjam, the worst-hit district, accounts for 17, followed by five in Khurda, four in Cuttack, and one each in Bargarh, Puri and Angul, he said.

Eight other coronavirus patients had died earlier but their deaths were attributed to "non-COVID reasons", the official said.

The state had reported its first COVID-19 fatality in Bhubaneswar on April 6.

Of the new 561 patients, including an NDRF staffer, 425 have been reported from quarantine centres where people returning from other states are lodged for preliminary observation and care, while 136 others have been detected as a result of the contact-tracing exercises.

The contact-tracing exercises of the fresh patients are underway, the official said.

The NDRF staffer was placed under institutional quarantine after his return from West Bengal, where he had gone for restoration work in the wake of cyclone Amphan, the official said.

With this, the total number of disaster response personnel from NDRF, ODRAF and Odisha Fire Service testing positive for the virus rose to 296.

The fresh cases have been reported from 19 different districts.

Ganjam recorded the highest of 283 cases, he said, adding that other districts that reported a high number of new cases are Cuttack (81), Rayagada (76), Khurda (26), Bargarh (21), Bolangir (19) and Mayurbhanj (10).

"The major problem that has emerged for the administration is the detection of 55 COVID positive cases from the Acharya Harihar Regional Caner Centre and six from the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack, the state's two premier health service facilities," the official said.

A total of 203 patients have been cured of the disease on Friday, the official said, adding that the state's recovery rate stands at 70.37 per cent.

Odisha now has 2,364 active cases, while a total of 5,705 patients have recovered from the disease so far.

The state health department on Thursday conducted tests of 6,871 samples, the official added.

The Odisha government has now set a target to conduct tests at least 6,000 samples every day because of the season change and return of over seven lakh migrant workers, the official said.

As the state capital reported 24 new cases, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus, prohibited hiring of labourers from other states till July 31.

"Business organisations like industrial units, construction companies, hotels and contractors shall not bring any worker from outside the state to the corporation area till July 31, 2020," BMC commissioner P C Chaudhury said.

If any business establishment has already brought workers from outside the state, they should be placed under quarantine for 14 days from their arrival here, he said.

These business units have also been asked to conduct tests for their staffers having coronavirus-like symptoms at their cost and accordingly, inform the authorities about the outcome of such examinations.

The BMC also issued another standard operating procedure (SOP) for private hospitals and nursing homes as a substantial number of COVID-19 patients have been detected in these health facilities.

"Many patients from hotspot districts such as Ganjam, Jajpur, Balasore, Gajapati and Cuttack are being admitted to these hospitals and at the same time increasing number of COVID-19 cases have been found from these facilities," a BMC official said.

The hospitals are advised to locate such patients and their attendants coming from the hotspot districts and separate them from others, the BMC said in its SOP.

Meanwhile, the health and family welfare department, in a notification, said if anybody wants to go for RT-PCR test, they can avail such facility in four private health institutions in the state capital under supervision of RMRC, Bhubaneswar.

The government has fixed the maximum price at Rs 2,200 for such testing, the notification said.

The state government has launched a door-to-door survey in rural areas and slums of urban areas.

"Please do not hide symptoms if any," COVID spokesperson Subroto Bagchi said in a an appeal to citizens.