Bhubaneswar, July 1 With the coronavirus pandemic still raging in the northern and coastal districts of Odisha, the Patnaik government on Thursday decided to continue with limited lockdowns in 10 districts, even as an audit showed that as many as 1,264 people died in the state due to Covid-19 related complications during the month of June.
As per the daily Covid-19 data shared by Health and Family Welfare Department, 1,44,776 people were infected during last month. The state had witnessed 8,735 Covid cases and 37 deaths on June 1, while 44 deaths and 6,097 cases were reported on June 10.
Though the cases came down to 3,577 on June 20 and 3,371 on June 30, the fatalities remained high during the entire month.
The toll ranged from 37 to 48 during the month. The State has written 40 deaths on June 20 while highest single-day fatality was reported on June 30, which was 48.
Similarly, the Test Positivity Rate (TPR), which was 14.2 per cent on June 1, fell down to 8.76 per cent on June 10 and 5.99 per cent on June 20. However, the TPR continued to remain at 5 per cent with slight fluctuation since June 17.
Following the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19, a total of 711 people died due to the virus in May, 2021 and 118 in the previous month in the state.
Odisha on Thursday reported 3,087 new infections, 45 deaths.
With this, total Covid cases in the state increased to 9,12,887, of which 8,77,540 patients recovered. The overall toll stood at 4,063, the health department data says.
State Director of Health, Bijay Kumar Mohapatra said: "The cases have come down in many districts. But, few districts still witness more cases. We are strengthening our surveillance in those areas and priority has also been given for quick vaccination."
Over 1,000 persons are still in ICU and ventilator support. As the chances of recovery of such critically ill patients are very less, these cases could add to the fatalities, he said.
As 10 coastal and northern districts continue to witness a high number of cases, the Naveen Patnaik government has extended a partial lockdown in the state till July 16. The new rules come into effect from Thursday.
The state has been divided into two groups. In category A, there are 20 districts where the positivity rate is 5 per cent or less, while 10 districts in coastal regions have been placed in category B.
The Category A districts are Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Devgarh, Kalahandi, Balangir, Nuapada, Subarnapur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boud, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar and Angul.
The districts where the positivity rate is over 5 per cent are Khordha, Puri, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts.
There will be no weekend shutdown in the Category-A districts while it will remain in force in the remaining 10 districts. Night curfew will continue all across the state.
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