Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday said that about 36,000 people in Odisha are likely to contract the novel coronavirus by the end of May.
“If we go by the conservative estimate, considering the rate of increase in the number of patients in India in proportion to the total population, a minimum of 58,643 people in will come in contact with the coronavirus by May 31. The rational estimate puts the number at around 10 lakh during this period. In Odisha, the number of patients as per the conservative estimate will be 2345 while in terms of rational estimate, the number is likely to shoot up to 36,000,” Chief Spokesperson on COVID-19 Subroto Bagchi told the media here.
Referring to the complete lockdown by the state government as a safety measure against the deadly virus, he said that the time had come for the people to exercise patience by confining themselves and their family to their homes.
“When you venture out of your house, there is every possibility of coming in contact with persons who have symptoms of the infection. You carry the virus home with you and infect your family members” he pointed out.
Talking about the high rate of mortality in the countries like China, Italy, France, England, Germany and United States, he said the people of these countries have remained on home isolation for the last two weeks. Cities like Wuhan in China, Times Square in US, London Bridge in England and Sydney Opera in Australia wear a deserted look, he said.
“We should take a leaf out of the austerity of the people of these countries and maintain social distancing while observing the lockdown in letter and spirit to save ourselves from this killer virus,” Bagchi added.
