Odisha: Khurda district moves to ‘red’ zone with over 2,500 active Covid cases

BHUBANESWAR: Khurda district on Wednesday moved to the ‘red zone’ with more than 2,500 active cases, after nearly a month of being in the ‘yellow’ spot (active cases between 1,000 and 2,500). The last time the district, which includes the state capital, was in the danger zone was on September 18 when it had 2,534 active cases. According to the health department dashboard, the cumulative active cases on Wednesday touched the 2,535-mark.
This has set the alarm bells ringing for healthcare experts, who said more than 2,500 active cases in a district seven months after the second wave, is not a good sign.
“There has been no improvement of the situation in Khurda district. Bhubaneswar has been adding the maximum number of cases to the state’s overall tally. The more the active infections, the higher the chance of the spread of the virus,” Ajay Parida, director, Institute of Life Sciences, said.
For a considerably long time now, Khurda has been contributing around 40% of cases to the state’s daily infection load. It has seen the highest Covid fatalities (1,522) so far. Both the first and second wave of Covid taken altogether, Khurda has seen 1,71,329 cases. Five of its blocks are on the red map with more than 100 active cases in each. The Bolagarh block is now in the ‘yellow’ zone with its active infections ranging between 50 and 100.
Khurda collector Sanat Mohanty said, “Strict measures are being taken to ensure that people don’t lower their guard.”
Meanwhile, the state on Wednesday reported 615 new cases, out of which Khurda’s share was 323. While its cumulative infection count is 16.58% of the state’s, its active infections form 49.41% of the state’s total active cases (4,799). As far as the fatalities are concerned, Khurda’s share is 18.41% of the state’s Covid death toll of 8,268.
Inspired By