Odisha reports 86 new COVID-19 cases, vaccination for senior citizens begins

Odisha's COVID-19 caseload on Monday mounted to 3,37,277 after 86 more people tested positive for the infection, while the state government launched the inoculation drive for senior citizens and comorbid people in the age group of 45-59 years, a health department official said.

Of the 86 new positive cases, 50 were reported from quarantine centres, while the rest were detected during contact tracing. Sambalpur reported the highest number of 16 new cases, followed by Puri (12) and Cuttack (9).

Odishas coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 1,916, he said. Fifty-three fatalities were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental, he said.

Currently, Odisha has 737 active cases of coronavirus infection, while 3,34,571 patients have recovered. The state has so far conducted over 83.41 lakh sample tests for COVID-19, including 20,276 on Sunday. Odisha's positivity rate stands at 4.04 per cent, the data released by the health and family welfare department said.

As the state government launched the third phase of the inoculation drive on Monday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took the first dose of the vaccine at the Vidhan Sabha dispensary in Bhubaneswar.

The vaccine will be administered free of cost at government healthcare facilities while private hospitals cannot charge more than Rs 250 per person per dose (Rs 150 for vaccine and Rs 100 as operational charges), the department said in a notification.

The vaccine will be available at seven government medical colleges and hospitals, 30 district headquarters hospitals besides those in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela cities.

It will also be available at 19 sub-divisional hospitals (SDHs) and important community health centres. This apart, 183 private hospitals, empanelled under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), have been permitted to carry out the vaccination process.