Odisha's COVID-19 death toll reaches 48; total tally of cases climbs to 10,624

Odisha's COVID-19 death toll mounted to 48 on Wednesday with six more patients succumbing to disease while state's caselo rose to 10,624 as 527 more people tested positive for vel coronavirus, a health department official said.

Odisha achieved a record-high discharge of 303 COVID-19 patients from hospitals during day, taking number of recoveries to 7,006, which is 65.94 per cent of total cases in state. fatality rate in state stood at 0.45 per cent, official said.

number of active cases in state w stood at 3,557, he said. Of six fresh fatalities, three were reported from Ganjam and one each from Rayaga, Khurda and Kendrapara districts, health department said.

In Ganjam, two men d 56 and 64 and a 50-year-old woman succumbed to disease. y h diabetes. A 55-year-old man from Bhubaneswar in Khurda district also died of viral infection, official said.

"An 80-year-old man from Rayaga district, who was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, died of COVID-19, while a 49-year-old man from Kendrapara also succumbed to disease. He was a diabetes patient," he said.

Of 48 deaths reported in Odisha so far, Ganjam was worst-hit district with 27 fatalities, followed by eight in Khurda, five in Cuttack, and one each in Baragarh, Gajapati, Angul, Kendrapara, Puri, Rayaga, Jajpur and Sundergarh, he said.

A 53-year-old coronavirus patient from Khurda district also died, but health department attributed cause of his death to "n-COVID reasons", official said ding that he died of HIV-AIDS.

With, this number of coronavirus patients who died due to "n-COVID reasons" increased to 13 in Odisha. Ruling BJD MLA from Salipur, Prasant Behera was among 527 people who tested positive for coronavirus, official said.

Ganjam district reported highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases with 215 persons testing positive for disease, followed by Sundergarh with 78 new cases, Khurda with 50, Balasore with 26, Jajpur 25, Bolangir 21, Nayagarh 18, Cuttack 17, Puri 16 and Mayurbhanj 10.

Sixteen or districts also reported fresh COVID-19 cases but numbers are in single digit, official said. Of 527 fresh cases, 338 have been reported from different quarantine centres, while 189 were found during contact-tracing exercises, he said.

state government on Wednesday issued a fresh set of guidelines for conduct of marris and funerals during pandemic. All collectors have been told to ensure strict enforcement of guideline, said special relief commissioner P K Jena.

re will be marri procession until furr order. Total participants including groom and bride in a marri function should t exceed 50 while 20 people are allowed in funeral activities, he said.

health department on Tuesday tested 5,918 swab samples.

Odisha has so far received 20,000 antigen kits which have been distributed among different government hospitals.

Suspected COVID-19 patients will undergo antigen test to ascertain ir status before any hospital mits m. This apart, all patients will undergo antigen test before any surgical procedure in hospitals, a health department official said.     state government sealed borders of Ganjam so that one could enter or exit coronavirus hotspot district. East Coast Railways withdrew train stopps in  Ganjam district and also cancelled some Ganjam-bound trains.

District magistrate-cum-collector VA Kulange said that body from Ganjam is allowed to visit Bhubaneswar. He requested people to remain indoors.

State capital of Bhubaneswar also recorded its highest daily spike of 46 cases taking total tally in city to 525. Bhubaneswar has so far reported seven COVID deaths while 222 cases are active.

In view of escalation in number of positive cases, an official tification stated that government staff commuting from places or than municipal limits of Cuttack and Khurda for ir offices in Bhubaneswar will t attend office till July 31.

Similarly, ar order said that in herence of guideline issued by government, restriction has been imposed on entry of public to Raj Bhavan. "If required, public can contact through Phone/Fax/email," order said.

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has closed two RTO offices, a bank and some or institutions in capital following detection of COVID-19 cases, a BMC official said.

In Cuttack, one more child tested positive for COVID-19 in Sishu Bhawan, premier pediatric hospital of Odisha, on Wednesday. On Monday, outdoor facility of hospital was closed after a child tested COVID-19 positive. However, emergency services were continuing, he said.