COVID Situation In Odisha Likely To Improve Further In Two Weeks: ILS Director

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is likely to see a further improvement in the COVID-19 pandemic situation in two weeks, said Bhubaneswar-based Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) director Ajay Parida said on Thursday.

Speaking to the media here, he said that about 60 per cent of the people in India are currently afflicted with the new COVID-19 variant B1.617.2. However, the rate of infection has started to decline and a further improvement is likely in 10-15 days.

On the prevailing pandemic situation in Odisha, Parida said that the state had witnessed the peak period between May 15 and 25 with a daily caseload of 11,000-12,000. However, Odisha’s COVID graph has shown a declining trend since May 25 with an average caseload of 9000. “The state reported 8,839 fresh infections in the last 24 hours and these cases were detected from 70178 samples sent for tests, putting the test positivity rate (TPR) at 12.59 per cent,” he added.

Also Read: Odisha Reports 8839 Fresh COVID Infections, TPR 12.59%; Testing Crosses 70K

He attributed the rising COVID deaths in Odisha to reluctance among people to report the infection despite having symptoms. “They are then admitted to the hospital in a critical condition,” he added.

The state reported the highest-ever single-day 42 fatalities on Thursday.

Also Read: No Let-Up In COVID Deaths In Odisha; Record Fatalities In 24 Hours

On the possibility of the third wave of the virus, the ILS director said that the country is prepared to contain its spread. He, however, said that it would depend on three major factors.

“The first factor is our behaviour. We must strictly adhere to the COVID protocols. The second is vaccination. The more the number of vaccination, the spread of the virus will be less. The third and most important factor is the mutation of the virus. If there is no mutation, the dimension in the spread of the virus will come down drastically,” he added.