Covid cases cross 1 lakh in Bhubaneswar, 10% of population infected

BHUBANESWAR: The capital city’s total Covid count on Sunday went past one lakh (1,00,181) as the state added 1,437 new cases from among the 74,735 samples tested, registering a positivity rate or TPR of below two per cent (1.92).
Bhubaneswar added 318 new cases against 317 recoveries, taking the active cases close to 2,500. In the second wave alone, the city has added 65,000 cases in a span of five months. With the state’s total Covid count inching close to 10 lakh, the capital’s one lakh infections means it is home to 10% of the overall cases. The city’s Covid fatalities also crossed 800 on Sunday.
Though the experts said the TPR going below 2% is a positive indicator for the state, they expressed serious concern about the daily cases not coming down at all. “More facilities are set to open with the markets’ opening hours being extended, apart from the lifting of other restrictions. In view of this, surveillance and testing should be intensified. If we have a TPR of below two per cent, it may fluctuate with dining in restaurants and other places now allowed. People need to stick to Covid-appropriate behaviour at all costs and not slip into complacency,” Ajay Parida, director of the Institute of Life Sciences, said.
On Sunday, 12 districts reported a TPR of below one per cent, while Nuapada saw no cases. The only district, whose TPR remained above five per cent, was Puri. Cuttack took the second spot with a 3.86% TPR. The positivity rate hovering over five per cent was the reason why the weekend shutdown in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack was not done away with. Puri, Khurda and Cutack reported cases in triple digits, while 16 districts added new cases in double digits and 10 in single.
The government confirmed 64 more Covid deaths taking the toll to 5,966. The second wave has seen close to 4,000 people succumbing to the virus. In July, the government’s highest single-day death report was of 69 fatalities. All through July, the fatality figures released by the government oscillated between 60 and 70 a day.
Inspired By