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Odisha shuts down Lingaraj Temple as Covid-19 cases rise in Bhubaneswar
In Odisha, the number of new Covid-19 cases jumped to 3664 in the last 24 hours while positivity rate jumped to over 10% forcing the state government to announce a five-fold increase in the number of beds in dedicated Covid Care Centres and hospitals to accommodate patients.
The Odisha government on Sunday shut down Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar’s largest Shiva temple for devotees, after four temple servitors tested positive as Covid-19 cases rose substantially in the state capital.
Officials of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation said out of the samples of 60 servitors of the 11th century Lingaraj Temple, the samples of four were found positive for Covid-19. The samples of another 185 servitors have been sent for testing.
“In the larger public interest and with a view to contain the further spread of coronavirus, public entry to the Lingaraj Temple is restricted until further orders,” said the order by the BMC. The BMC officials said the Ashokastami car festival scheduled on Tuesday will be held without devotees like last year.
In Puri, the officials of the Jagannath Temple administration have already made it mandatory for people coming from outside Odisha to carry a RT-PCR negative test report. Similar measures are being considered for Odisha devotees too.
The closure of the temple came as the positivity rate in Bhubaneswar hovered around 20 per cent and the number of active cases crossed 2500. Bhubaneswar reported about 338 cases on Sunday. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation commissioner PC Chaudhary said of the 775 Covid-19 dedicated beds available in 2 hospitals, around 70 per cent stand occupied.
“Most of the active patients are in home isolation. But we plan to add 600 more beds in the next few days as more number of patients are likely to need hospitalisation. If needed, we will reactivate the hospitals that were used last year. However, there is no problem with oxygen supply in Bhubaneswar’s hospitals,” he said.
Chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra had earlier directed the civic body to mobilise at least 50 rapid response teams for regular monitoring of home isolation patients and ensure implementation of Covid-19 protocols.
In Odisha, the number of new Covid-19 cases jumped to 3664 in the last 24 hours while positivity rate jumped to over 10% forcing the state government to announce a five-fold increase in the number of beds in dedicated Covid Care Centres and hospitals to accommodate patients.
Director of Public Health Niranjan Mishra has said that a five-fold increase will be made in the number of beds in hospitals and all the District Collectors have been instructed to do so.
Mishra said the number of beds will be increased 4 to 5 times more than last year. “Four categories of beds are required for Covid-19 infected patients which include- common beds, oxygen support beds, ICU beds, and ICU beds with ventilators. Only critically ill patients will be given ICU beds. Oxygen supply will be increased by 10 times so that our state does not experience a shortage of oxygen,” he said.
At present, 25 per cent of general beds and 60 per cent of ICU beds are occupied by patients. Similarly, 14 per cent of the patients are in ventilator beds. Of the 248 beds, 45 patients are on ventilators. There are a total of 541 ICU beds in the state, of which 329 are currently occupied.
