Record daily spike in Covid cases in Odisha, situation could turn ‘devastating’

Active cases in Odisha jumped to 4,255, from just 694 on March 7, while 3,38,416 patients have so far recovered from the disease.

Odisha on Wednesday reported the highest daily spike this year with 799 fresh Covid-19 cases registered across the state, a day after chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced a 10-day special drive to enforce Covid-safety-protocols and said that the situation could turn ‘devastating’ if the fresh wave of infections were not contained in time.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has announced a special drive to contain Covid-19 through enforcement of protocol. (Arabinda Mahapatra/HT Photo)

The 791 fresh Covid-19 cases pushed the disease tally to 3,44,647, said a health department official quoted by PTI. The death toll rose to 1,923 after one more patient from Puri succumbed to the disease, he said. Of the new cases, 459 were reported from quarantine centres and 332 detected during contact tracing.

Active cases in Odisha jumped to 4,255, from just 694 on March 7, while 3,38,416 patients have so far recovered from the disease, the official said. Eight districts bordering Chhattisgarh accounted for the bulk of the daily caseload as the infection kept on spreading to rural areas.

“This new wave of Covid virus seems more infectious and might create a devastating situation if we do not take it seriously. We will go for strict enforcement of Covid norms... to slow down the spread of the virus. DGP will deploy the police personnel in large numbers across the state in a 10-day drive to strictly enforce the Covid safety protocols as notified,” Patnaik said on Tuesday after a Covid review meeting through video conference.

The state government has already rushed PG students in various medical colleges to the western Odisha districts to man the Covid hospitals.

“We are now battle-hardened and I am sure we will be able to successfully tackle this resurgence of the virus. We have to reactivate all our protocols and make the entire machinery work with enthusiasm and vigour,” said Patnaik.

He directed chief secretary, additional chief secretary of health and family welfare department and senior officials to visit the western Odisha districts that are seeing a major spurt in Covid cases.

The district administration in Puri, where the iconic Jagannath Temple attracts lakhs of visitors, has made it mandatory for travellers from five Covid hotspot states-- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Kerala to produce Covid-19 negative RT-PCR certificates at the railway station and bus terminus, a district official said.

The state government has started imposing night curfew from 10pm to 5am in Sundargarh, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts to contain the spread of the disease.