Odisha's COVID-19 recovery rate crosses 50 pc mark; total cases rise to 1,593

Seventy-six people tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha on Wednesday, taking the number of cases to 1,593, a Health Department official said. Of the fresh cases, 74 people returned to Odisha from other states like Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharastra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand, and were lodged at different quarantine centres.

The other two had come in contact with persons who were earlier found to be COVID-19 positive, he said. Thirteen new cases were reported from Khurda, followed by Cuttack at 11, Ganjam (10), Mayurbhanj (1), Balasore (2), Bolangir (16), Nuapada (13), Jagatsinghpur (6), Nayagarh (2), Sundergarh (2), the official said.

Twenty-nine of the state's 30 districts have reported COVID-19 cases, barring only Rayagada in the southern part of Odisha. Seventy-nine people were discharged from hospitals during the day following recovery. Highest 28 patients were discharged in the Bhadrak district, the official said.

The total number of recoveries in the state reached 812, while there are 774 active cases. The rate of recovery in the state also crossed the 50 per cent mark, the official said. This is for the first time that the number of cured persons is more than the active cases in the state, the official said, adding that a total of seven persons had died of COVID-19 so far in the state.

Ganjam district remains on top of the list of coronavirus-hit districts in the state with 368 patients, followed by 242 in Jajpur, 139 in Balasore, Bhadrak (106), Khurda (99), Cuttack (86), Puri (85), Kendrapara (61) and Bolangir (54). The official said while 14,507 people returned to the state on Wednesday, as many as 3,36,388 people have come back from other parts of the country since May 3. The returnees are being quarantined in 16,632 temporary medical centres/camps spread over 6,798 gram panchayats. The government has made arrangements of 7,31,814 beds to keep them in isolation.