BHUBANESWAR: BJD's Bhadrak MP Manjulata Mandal was among 2819 new COVID-19 cases detected in Odisha in last 24 hours pushing the total number of cases go beyond 75,000.
The death toll reached 452 after nine more patients, including three from Cuttack, two from Sundargarh and one each from Ganjam, Rayagada, Balangir and Malkangiri succumbed to the disease during the period.
Of the 2819 new infections spread across 30 districts, 1691 were in quarantine and 1128 local contacts.
While 11 districts recorded more than 100 fresh cases, Khurda continued to report maximum cases (443) surpassing worst-hit Ganjam (192), which has been pushed to fourth spot in daily case count. Cuttack, Mayurbhanj and Bargarh reported their biggest single-day spike with 257, 219 and 136 cases respectively.
Among other districts, 147 new cases were found in Rayagada, 145 in Sambalpur, 120 in Jajpur, 109 in Puri, 105 in Balasore and 100 in Dhankanal With this, the total number of confirmed cases reached 75,537. Thirteen districts have recorded more than 2,000 cases. Even as new infections are on a declining trend, Ganjam is still way ahead of other districts in terms of COVID tally.
The coastal district registered 16,078 cases, followed by Khurda (11,288), Cuttack (5174), Sundargarh (3738), Rayagada (2963), Balasore (2745), Gajapati (2608), Jajpur (2579), Koraput (2444), Puri (2435), Nayagarh (2041), Bhadrak (2006) and Mayurbhanj (2001).
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha MP took to social media on Saturday to announce that she had tested positive for novel coronavirus. She is the second MP from Odisha to have tested positive after BJP MP from Bargarh Suresh Pujari. Her health condition is stable and she has been advised to remain in home isolation.
“On developing symptoms of COVID-19, I got the test done and the report came positive. My health is fine and stable. I'm in-home quarantine. I request that all of you who have come in contact with me in the last few days, please isolate yourself and get your test done,” Mandal tweeted. Senior BJP leader and former MP from Koraput Jayaram Pangi has also tested positive for COVID-19.
The 65-year-old politician had recently undergone test after he fell sick. He is under home quarantine after his test result found to be positive. The number of active cases now stands at 24,581 after recovery of 50,504 cases so far.
The State has a recovery rate of 69.4 per cent against the national average of 74.3 per cent. The State has conducted highest 61,379 tests, including 7056 through RT-PCR, 54,243 through rapid antigen kits and 82 through TrueNat on Friday. As many as 12,33,805 tests have been conducted so far.