As COVID Cases Spike In Festival Season, Centre’s Advisory To States; Check Details

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: With a spike in COVID-19 cases in some states and Union Territories (UTs), the Centre on Tuesday urged states and UTs to focus on the five-fold strategy of “test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour”.

Keeping in view upcoming festivities and mass congregations, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare urged states to ensure that people participating in such gatherings are asymptomatic and preferably fully vaccinated against COVID.

Further, it called for ramping up RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT).

With COVID cases rising in Odisha, wearing of mask has been made mandatory for those visiting Puri to witness the Rath Yatra being held with public participation after a gap of two years.

RAT and vaccination drive have also been ramped up in the pilgrim town.

Those having symptoms have been urged to avoid visiting the pilgrim town.

Odisha on Tuesday registered a sharp spike in daily COVID caseload as 113 people were found infected in the last 24 hours, the highest in almost two months.

The state had reported 69 cases the previous day.

Here are the district-wise figures of the new cases:

1. Cuttack: 21
2. Jajpur: 2
3. Khurda: 65
4. Puri: 1
5. Sambalpur: 4
6. Sundargarh: 6

Besides, 14 from the state pool.

With these cases being detected from 11,284 samples, the test positivity rate stood at 1 per cent.

Odisha now has 517 active cases.