Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will know the effect of the statewide lockdown against the pandemic in eight weeks, the Director of Public Health, Niranjan Mishra, told the media on Monday.
Defending the government’s decision to clamp the lockdown, Mishra said, “The daily caseload in Odisha has been hovering around 10,000-12000 during the two-week lockdown. Had the state government not clamped the lockdown, the daily caseload would have been over 20,000. We hope that the number of positive cases in the state will come down further due to the lockdown effect and it will be known in 2-8 weeks.”
Mishra informed that the infection rate in rural areas is around 55-60 per cent. However, it is not alarming, he added.
On the steps taken to prevent the spread of the virus in rural areas, he said ASHA, Anganwadi and ANM workers are conducting testing at doorsteps. The Collectors and Chief District Medical Officers are also conducting regular assessments in their respective districts, he said.
