Bhubaneswar: Concerned over the rise in COVID-19 test positivity rate (TPR) in some districts, the Odisha government will review lockdown restrictions at a high-level meeting on June 30.
Director, Health Services Bijay Mohapatra told mediapersons on Saturday that the state government had eased lockdown restrictions as TPR had come down. But it has been found that that TPR is again showing a rising trend now due to some habitual violators of COVID norms.
According to the state COVID dashboard data, barring eight districts — Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Sambalpur and Sundargarh — TPR in the remaining 24 districts has shown a rising trend.
Citing instances of COVID norms violations in Bhubaneswar, Mohapatra said that some people are found gossiping in groups on the pretext of marketing despite knowing that the virus is still active.
“To bring down the TPR, state government has intensified active surveillance and vaccination drive. Despite this, TPR in some districts is rising due to violation of COVID-appropriate behaviour by some people. The government is closely monitoring the situation on a daily basis. As current lockdown restriction will continue till July 1, the government will decide whether to further relax restrictions at a high-level meeting on June 30,” Mohapatra informed.
