COVID Cases May Rise For Another 2 Months In Odisha; Positivity Rate Above 10% In 5 Districts

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is likely to witness a continued rise in daily COVID caseload for another two months, Director of Public Health Niranjan Mishra informed on Wednesday.

“The transmission will continue to increase till March. A majority of patients are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic,” he said.

Though the test positivity rate is high in 4-5 districts, death, hospitalisation and ICU occupancy is currently low in the state, he said, adding that hospital beds will be increased depending on the number of cases in future.

Odisha now has 35,242 active cases.

Stating that the next few weeks are crucial, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday had urged people to abide by all COVID guidelines. He had also said that patients admitted to hospitals in the third wave has been less than the previous waves.

Also Read: Daily COVID Caseload Inches Closer To 9000-Mark In Odisha 

As on January 10, Sundargarh had the highest test positivity rate (TRP) of 22.8 per cent, followed by Khurda (17.1), Sambalpur (15.8), Koraput (12.4) and Cuttack (11.1). Along with these five districts, Puri, Balangir and Jharsuguda are also in the RED ZONE with a TPR of over 7.5 per cent.

Also Read: Four Odisha Districts In Red Zone, Most New COVID Infections Among Unvaccinated 19-40 Age Group

Notably, more than 90 per cent of patients in Bhubaneswar are undergoing treatment in home isolation. BMC Deputy Commissioner for Health and Sanitation Suvendu Kumar Sahoo said 40 Ayush doctors have been roped in and the number of rapid response teams (RRTs) increased to 40 from 16 to strengthen health advisory and monitoring service for patients in home isolation.

Bhubaneswar currently has 3928 active cases.

On being contacted via helpline 1929, the teams will visit patients in home isolation to give them medical advice and an isolation kit, he said.