Soaring COVID Cases In Odisha Result Of Increased Testing: Govt

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday said the number of COVID-19 positive cases as well as deaths have gone up in the second wave due to increased corona testing.

Talking to mediapersons, Director, Health Services, Bijay Mohapatra said although positive cases in the state have gone up in proportion to the increase in the number of tests, the test positivity rate (TPR) is not alarming as it now hovers around 20%.

Referring to the rise in the number of deaths in the state, he said this is due to the admission of several critical patients in different COVID hospitals. “Till date, 80% of the ICU beds and 50% of ventilator beds have been filled up. As the number of critical patients has gone up, the process to increase the number of ICU beds has begun at KIMS COVID hospital today,” he added.

Expressing hope that the number of positive cases in Odisha will gradually come down by the end of this month, Mohapatra said the number of deaths will come down in proportion to the number of vaccination.

Referring to the patients afflicted with black fungus, he clarified that the black and white fungus in Odisha is not new as they were there in the state earlier.

Stating that 10 patients in the state have been diagnosed with black fungus, Mohapatra requested the people not to get panicked. “A patient can be completely cured if he/she is diagnosed early,” he pointed out.