Odisha May See Slight Rise In COVID Cases, Projects US Institute

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is likely to witness a marginal rise in COVID-19 cases in coming months and there may not be any major increase for Omicron BF.7 variant, according to new projections from the US-based Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Mortality rate due to the virus in the state as indicated in the projections is not quite significant.

Mortality rate is unlikely to go up between January and April, 2023,  considering that the severity and fatality rate due to the new BF.7 variant is less.

COVID-19 cases are likely to record a slight increase in the state in January and February as per IHME projections. However, towards the middle of March the number of COVID-19 cases is likely to witness a fall and the situation may remain stable up to April.

Regarding the use of hospital resources in the coming months, the projections showed there will a slight increase in use of all beds. The use of ICU beds is also likely to go up from January due to marginal increase in COVID-19 cases in the state.

The  IHME is a research institute working in the area of global health statistics and impact evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has mounted a close vigil on the situation in the wake of detection of BF.7 variant in the state but advised the people not to panic and observe COVID-appropriate behaviour.

While Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the COVID-19 situation on Tuesday, Health Minister Naba Kishore Das took stock of the position on Wednesday.

Health Secretary Shalini Pandit has said that oservations in the last three months show that the COVID-19 infection cases are gradually decreasing. “If we see at present, around 100 to 200 cases are reported daily across the country and in Odisha, the cases are limited to only 5 to 7 on a daily basis,” she said