ROURKELA: Sundargarh which reported 2,073 cases - highest in the State - registered a staggering 52.44 per cent (pc) Test Positivity Rate (TPR) in the last 24 hours. For a perspective, Goa’s TPR, said to be highest in the country, stands at 52 pc.
Rourkela alone accounted for 1,007 of these cases and the much smaller Sundargarh town reported 127 cases, while the rural Lefripada block saw a spike of 196 cases in this period.
New infections nearly doubled in 24 hours in the district against 1,183 cases reported a day before on Thursday. And if reliable sources in the Health & Family Welfare Department are to be believed, then the upward trend would continue for a week to a fortnight.
On Friday, active cases mounted to 8,674 to stretch the Covid treatment facilities to the brim. While the district’s total positive tally stood at 35,728, around 26,845 patients have recovered so far. With the official declaration of four deaths on the day, the virus toll stands at 205.
Meanwhile, the Rourkela ADM and Incident Commander for COVID-19 Aboli Sunil Naravane on Thursday inspected the treatment facilities at the Shanti Memorial Covid hospital. She said similar inspections would be carried out for other Covid hospitals in the district too.
Sundargarh Chief District Medical & Public Health Officer (CDM PHO) Dr SK Mishra said more cases are being detected as testing has been increased. The district has received 1 lakh rapid antigen test kits and daily testing would be further increased to around 7,500 per day.
He said, currently, 1,100 RT-PCR tests are being carried out daily and in the next few days, 10 TrueNat testing facilities would begin testing 500 samples per day.
The TrueNat test is as good as RT-PCR, Mishra added.Maintaining that inward movement of migrant workers of Sundargarh poses a challenge for the district administration in its Covid fight, Mishra informed that 50 temporary medical camps have been opened in rural areas so far where Covid Care Centres are available.
“Migrants entering the district would be tested and positive cases will be sent to CCCs, while those testing negative have to remain in institutional quarantine”, he added.
VIRUS COUNT
Rourkela alone accounted for 1,007 of the dist tally
Active cases as on Friday: 8,674
COVID toll so far: 205