Odisha COVID Fatality Rate Remains A Concern With 2000 Patients In ICUs, 500 On Ventilator

Bhubaneswar: Amid the declining COVID graph, 10 districts in Odisha with a high positivity rate continue to be a concern for the government.

Director of Health Services Bijay Mohapatra on Thursday attributed it to the uncontrolled movement of people in these districts, which include Khurda, Cuttack and Puri. “An organism needs a host and an environment conducive for its transmission. The good news is that three districts – Angul, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar – have reported a decrease in TPR and active cases in the last 14 days and have been shifted to Category A,” he said.

According to the state dashboard, Mutyurbhanj has the highest TRP of 8.6, followed by Nayagarh (8.5), Balasore (7.6), Cuttack (7.5), Bhadrak (7.3) and Puri (6.5). Khurda a seen a slight decline in TPR, which stood at 5.1 per cent on Wednesday.

Speaking about the unlocking measures, he said that the government relaxed lockdown restrictions to take the pressure off the livelihood sources. “The infection rate will definitely decline if we strictly follow COVID appreciate behaviour,” he added.

Mohapatra said that the focus will be on intensive surveillance for the next three months. “This will help in detecting hidden cases. This along with contact tracing and vaccination will help in containing the spread of the virus,” he said.

“We are hopeful of a further decrease in the active cases, TPR and case fatality rate by mid-July,” he added.

He said that 500 + COVID patients were on ventilator support and 2000 undergoing treatment in ICUs on Tuesday. “An estimated 30 per cent of those in ICUs may need ventilator support. Since patients are still under ventilator support, it will take some time to rein in the CFR rate,” he said.

A day after reporting a record 48 deaths, the state saw 45 more patients succumbing to the deadly disease in the last 24 hours.

Since the Centre allowed COVID-19 vaccination of expectant mothers last week, the government will begin the same in the state soon, he added.