Bhubaneswar: After a steep spike in COVID cases during the third wave, Odisha has been witnessing a continued fall in daily infection for over two weeks now.
The state saw a 25 per cent drop in new cases on Sunday with 1,148 people testing positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. The test positivity rate stood at 1.84 per cent.
Amid a gradual slowdown of the disease, the Odisha government has decided to discontinue routine COVID-I9 testing prior to inpatient hospitalisation (regular as well as daycare). This is also applicable for any minor or major surgical/interventional/non-interventional procedures and imaging in clinically asymptomatic patients, including OPD/emergency patients as well as those who have recovered from COVID-19.
Referring to the recent advisory on the Purposive Testing Strategy for COVID-19, the Health Department said, “Asymptomatic patients undergoing surgical/non-surgical invasive procedures including pregnant women in/near labour who are hospitalized for delivery should not be tested unless warranted or symptoms develop.”
