New Covid-19 cases below 2,000 for sixth day in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: The number of new Covid-19 infections in a day continued to remain below 2,000 for the sixth day in a row on Saturday. Another 1,695 more tested positive for the virus, which raised the case load to 2,79,582. Fifteen patients succumbed, increasing the death toll to 1,229.
The health department appealed to the people not to compromise on social distancing norms during Durga Puja. “The public must avoid pandals. Any overcrowding may result in a spike in the number of cases, spoiling the excellent outcome achieved so far,” said additional chief secretary (health) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra.
The government has made Durga Puja an indoor affair by barring devotees from visiting pandals while limiting the number of people in a pandal at any given point of time to seven. Jayant Panda, the government’s technical adviser on Covid-19, said the burden on healthcare infrastructure has been steadily going down as the number of patients needing hospitalisation has been falling. “The downward trend in new infections and deaths will continue in November, unless there is a second wave. The worst may soon be over,” he said.
Only four districts — Khurda (183), Balasore (128), Sundargarh (110) and Cuttack (103) — reported more than 100 new cases each. While two persons each died in Khurda, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh, one each passed away in Angul, Balasore, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Gajapati, Jharsuguda, Kandhamal, Puri and Sambalpur. The number of Covid cured patients increased to 2,62,031 after 2,613 patients recovered on Saturday. The active positive cases in the state fell to 16,269. The recovery rate has improved to over 93%.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to inaugurate a 500-bed upgraded facility for Covid care, including a dedicated OT complex for delivery of Covid positive women and neonatal ICU for babies delivered by such women, on Tuesday. It will be the most state-of-the-art facility for Covid care in the government sector, with superspecialty wings for patients with different kinds of comorbidities, government sources said.
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