Covid-19 recoveries outstrip active cases in Odisha

The state which recorded its first case on March 15, had seen its numbers spike in the last fortnight before scripting a turnaround of sorts.

Odisha achieved an important benchmark on Thursday in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic with the number of fully recovered patients exceeding the number of active cases.

Passengers walk to board a train to reach New Delhi at a railway station following the resumption of passenger train services by the Indian Railways in a graded manner, during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, in Bhubaneswar, Wednesday, May 13, 2020. (PTI)

The state which recorded its first case on March 15, had seen its numbers spike in the last fortnight before scripting a turnaround of sorts.

“More than half of those affected with Covid-19 have been cured and have returned to their homes. Our death rates are among the lowest in the world. This is a big achievement for a state like Odisha and we the people of Odisha. Powerful nations of the world and big states of India, rich states have not been this successful in the war with corona. This is an extraordinary achievement for the Odia people,” chief minister Naveen Patnaik said in a pre-recorded video message aired on local TV channels.

On Thursday, 75 Covid-19 patients in the state recovered taking the total number of recoveries to 887 while the number of active Covid-19 cases was 776 after 67 new cases were detected. The state’s Covid-19 tally is now 1,660.

Additional chief secretary of health department, Pradipta Kishore Mohapatra said Odisha’s recovery rate is now around 49 per cent compared to the national average of 41 per cent.

As per ICMR guideline, Odisha is discharging Covid-19 positive cases with very mild symptoms after 10 days of detection with a caveat that they should not have fever for three days consecutive days. Health authorities have also discontinued the practice of conducting two back-to-back tests on such patients before discharge.

“The recovery rate will go up in the coming days as we are seeing more and more asymptomatic cases,” said Mohapatra.

On social media however, Patnaik’s claims of Odisha’s lowest death rates came under fire with some pointing out that a state like Chhattisgarh has had no deaths.

Renowned epidemiologist Jayprakash Mulyil also said this is not the time to boast about the lowest death rate. “We are still in the middle of a pandemic and it would be better to take stock after it is over,” he said.

Meanwhile, chief minister Patnaik has urged the people to sing Odisha’s state song ‘Bande Utkal Janani’ at 5.30 pm on May 30 to motivate corona warriors.

“Bande Utkal Janani was the original song of Utkal Sammilani during the movement for the formation of a separate province of Odisha. Now, it will inspire us to strengthen our commitment to the fight against coronavirus. It will provide us the strength to face the challenges ahead,” he said.