E-Paper
Bhubaneswar achieves target of 18 lakh doses of vaccination, TPR still above 5%
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has reached its target of administering over 18 lakh doses by July 31, officials said
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has reached its target of administering over 18 lakh doses by July 31, officials said.
BMC Commissioner Sanjay Singh said the target was to administer a total of 18.14 lakh doses - both first and second - to a little over 9 lakh people in the 18+ age group. However, 18,35,903 doses have been given by July 31. Among the people vaccinated, 10,59,753 have received the first dose and 7,76,150 have received the second dose.
Singh said as people from other districts are coming to Bhubaneswar, they may have taken the vaccine that was meant for people living within the BMC area. He, however, said Bhubaneswar citizens have been given priority.
When vaccination started in Odisha, Bhubaneswar was the only place where Covaxin was given. As the gap between two doses was 4 weeks compared to 12 weeks of Covishield, it helped quicker vaccination of people in the BMC area. The municipal body speeded up the vaccination by arranging drive-in facilities at parking areas of malls where people in their two-wheelers and cars could drive in and get jabbed. The BMC also organised doorstep vaccination in various apartments and private companies. It also started the vaccination of beggars and the poor.
Singh said from Monday, people who are waiting to get their second dose of the jab can visit any vaccination centre near their home and get jabbed without booking a slot on the CoWin app.
Despite record vaccination in Bhubaneswar, the city still continues to report more than 350 cases daily which officials said is happening as people are not adhering to Covid appropriate behaviour. Besides, many cases are being reported among those less than 18 years who are yet to be vaccinated. On Saturday, the city reported 354 new cases of Covid-19 with the test positivity rate (TPR) climbing to 5.48%.
Meanwhile, the state government on Saturday announced that weekend shutdowns will continue in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri from August 1 as the cases continued to remain high there. However, the rest of the state would see no weekend shutdown from August 1. Street food vendors shall be allowed to operate with on-spot eating in compliance with Covid-19 safety protocols. Daily and weekly haats shall remain open with strict adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour. Inter-state and intra-state public transport by buses shall remain functional with seating capacity only.
All educational institutions, including coaching centres, would function as per the guidelines issued by respective departments. Indoor amusement centres, entertainment parks, amusement parks, theme parks, water parks, museums, tourist places, zoos and archaeological monuments would remain open observing Covid-19 safety protocols.
Government and private swimming pools would remain open.
