BHUBANESWAR: Keeping pace with the national trend, Odisha reported a marked rise in new Covid-19 cases with 51 people testing positive for the disease in the last 24 hours. The fresh infections spread from five to 11 districts during the period.
According to the Health department dashboard, Khurda accounted for 50 per cent of the caseload with 26 cases, followed by four from Balasore, three from Cuttack and two each from Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh and Sundargarh.
Despite a marginal rise in the number of tests from 10,714 on June 16 to 11,719 in the last 24 hours, the test positivity rate went up to 0.44 per cent from 0.25 per cent a day ago. Health experts claimed the cases will definitely be more if testing is more targeted and accelerated.
As the third wave led by the Omicron variant was less severe, people with symptoms are now avoiding tests and relying on the routine common cold treatment, they pointed out. Although it is premature to predict whether the fourth wave will be unlike the previous three waves, early indications are that the worst affected districts during the third wave could lead the next wave in the State.
Districts like Khurda, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur and Puri, which were hotspots along with Sambalpur, Ganjam, Angul and Jajpur during the January wave, have been witnessing a steady rise in new cases this month.
With the educational institutions opening from this week post-summer vacation, the infection is expected to spread further. The emergence of Covid clusters can not be ruled out in the institutions and hostels where social distancing and mask use are rare scenes, they warned.
The Health and Family Welfare department, meanwhile, has asked the districts, urban local bodies and departments dealing with the education of children to keep a tab on the institutions and initiate immediate containment measures if clusters emerge.