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 the disease while the state's caseload rose to 10,624 as 527 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a health department official said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ganjam district reported the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases with 215 persons testing positive for the 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 other districts also reported fresh COVID-19 cases but the numbers are in single digit, the official said. Of the 527 fresh cases, 338 have been reported from different quarantine centres, while 189 were found during the contact-tracing exercises, he said.

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

There will be no marriage procession until further order. Total participants including groom and bride in a marriage function should not exceed 50 while 20 people are allowed in funeral activities, he said.

The 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 their status before any hospital admits them. This apart, all patients will undergo antigen test before any surgical procedure in hospitals, a health department official said.     The state government sealed the borders of Ganjam so that no one could enter or exit the coronavirus hotspot district. The East Coast Railways withdrew train stoppages in  Ganjam district and also cancelled some Ganjam-bound trains.

District magistrate-cum-collector VA Kulange said that nobody 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 the total tally in the city to 525. Bhubaneswar has so far reported seven COVID deaths while 222 cases are active.

In view of the escalation in the number of positive cases, an official notification stated that government staff commuting from places other than the municipal limits of Cuttack and Khurda for their offices in Bhubaneswar will not attend office till July 31.

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

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

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