BHUBANESWAR: As anticipated, Odisha has added a whopping 4647 cases to its Covid-19 tally this month.The number of cases recorded in the last 28 days is more than twice the cases registered in 77 days till May 31. With 245 new cases in last 24 hours, the number of cases soared to 6859.
The State had 2212 cases till May-end. Of the 30 districts, 17 have more than 100 cases with Ganjam being the worst hit with 1367 cases.
Remaining slow initially, the novel coronavirus infection spread in the 17 districts following the influx of migrants from the virus burden states.
Even as the country decided to enforce Unlock 1.0 from June 1, Odisha Government as a preemptive measures went for weekend shutdown in 11 migration prone districts for two days a week from June 6 to check further spread of the highly infectious disease.
Complete shutdown of non-essential services was imposed in Ganjam, Puri, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Balangir districts on Saturday and Sundays.
Movement of people was restricted in these districts for eight days in the month in view of continuing surge in coronavirus cases days after the State allowed most services and businesses to function with restrictions under the Unlock 1.0.
However, out of 4043 cases recorded during the shutdown period between June 6 and 28, the 11 districts contribution stood at 2697 cases, a staggering 66.7 pc.
While the maximum 770 cases were detected in Ganjam and 584 in Khurda, Cuttack registered 390 cases followed by Jagatsinghpur (194), Jajpur (172) and Balasore (156).
Other six districts - Gajapati, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj and Jharsuguda, where the shutdown was not enforced, have registered 964 cases during the period.
“It appears the weekend shutdown had an impact as it has helped to contain the spread as most of the infected persons were from quarantine centres set up in the districts. Though the number of local cases spiked, those were either contacts of previous positive cases or frontline Covid warriors engaged in quarantine centres or hospitals,” a health official said.
What has set the alarm bell ringing is that the rising number of healthcare workers testing positive for Covid-19 despite containment measures. More than 300 frontline workers have been affected in the State this month.
WHAT LIES AHEAD
Depending on the case load it is speculated that the State may extend the weekend shutdown to six more districts
Shutdown restriction may be relaxed in Balangir, Nayagarh, Kendrapara and Bhadrak, which have reported less than 100 cases during the June 6-28 period.
Area wise containment measures are likely to be implemented in these dists