Is Puja Revelry Leading To Rise In COVID Cases In Bhubaneswar? Know What Health Officials Have To Say

Bhubaneswar: An uptrend in COVID positive cases in Odisha, particularly Bhubaneswar during the festive season, is worrying.

Even as Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has started a drive to nearly double COVID-19 testing in the capital city by deploying 12 vans in all the three zones in view of the festive season, the top health officials have once again requested people to stay home and help the government in checking the spread of infections.

Director Medical Education and Training (DMET) Directorate, Odisha, Prof CBK Mohanty on Wednesday said the rise in COVID-19 transmission in Khurda and Cuttack districts is due to high influx of people from other districts.

The daily infections are hovering around 400 to 600 in the state, said the DMET and added that Khurda district is back in the Red Zone in view of high test positivity rate and number of active cases.

Of the daily COVID caseload as 615 new infections in the last 24 hours, Khurda district recorded 323 new cases, taking the number of active cases in the district to 2,535. Two of the 7 deaths in state were also from the capital city.

It may be mentioned that bulk of the daily COVID-19 cases are being reported from the capital city in Khurda district.  Odisha has a total of 5203 active cases, of which Bhubaneswar alone accounts for 70 per cent or 3636 cases.

The district reported the highest of 52.52% cases in the last 24 hours indicating that festive rush and non-adherence to COVID protocol are some of the reasons behind the rising cases.

Director of Health Services Bijay Kumar Mohapatra said on Wednesday that the cases in Bhubaneswar are rising as people are not abiding by COVID protocol. He appealed the people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and exercise caution.

The government has been warning people to resist from going out of their homes and to crowded places, unless very necessary, for the next three months as the ongoing festive season is most crucial for the health of the state.

About the vaccination of children, Mohapatra said it will begin after the Centre issues guidelines in this regard and after the arrival of fresh stock of vaccines.