Bhubaneswar: The downward trend in daily COVID caseload in Odisha continued for the second consecutive day on Tuesday with 279 of 6,249 samples testing positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, according to data shared by state health department.
The state had logged 388 cases on Sunday after reporting over 500 positives for two days – 573, the highest in the last eight months, and 526 on Saturday and Friday respectively.
With 187 more patients having recovered from the infection, Odisha now has 4,066 active cases. The test positivity rate (TPR) has dropped to 4.46% from 5.57% the previous day.
The health department has confirmed two deaths in the last two days, taking this year’s toll to 7. The deceased have been identified as an 86-year-old man of Puri and 54-year-old man of Bargarh with comorbidities like diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
The state has also witnessed a drop in the weekly TPR (April 22 to April 28) with Boudh topping the list with 27.38%, followed by Sonepur (25.37), Sundargarh (20.31), Sambalpur (17.74), Kalahandi (11.44) and Nuapada (10.79).
Notably, the weekly TPR had shot above 45% in Sambalpur between April 16 and April 22. The western Odisha district had the highest TPR of 48%, followed by 25 per cent in Subarnapur, 21% in Sundargarh, 14.1% in Kalahandi and 13.94% in Nuapada.