Coronavirus daily updates: 251 fresh cases in Odisha; tally now 7,316

Odisha recorded 251 fresh COVID-19 cases, including that of 43 frontline health workers and an NDRF personnel, taking the state's tally to 7,316, a health department official said on Wednesday.

One COVID-19 patient died in Ganjam district, but the state government attributed the death to terminal lung cancer.

"A 52-year-old male COVID-19 patient of Ganjam district passed away due to terminal cancer of the lungs with brain metastasis," the department said in a statement.

In seven cases earlier, deaths were attributed to "non-COVID reasons", the official said.

The state has so far confirmed 25 deaths due to coronavirus.

Ganjam, the worst-hit district, accounts for 14 fatalities, followed by five in Khurda, four in Cuttack, and one each in Bargarh and Puri, he said.

Of the total 251 fresh COVID-19 cases, 208 have been detected from quarantine centres, where people returning from different states are lodged for preliminary observation and care. Their contact tracing is underway, he said.

Ganjam district reported the highest of 102 new cases, followed by 32 in Cuttack, 26 in Khurda, 14 in Nayagarh, 12 each in Puri and Bargarh and 10 in Malkangiri. Twelve other districts reported single digit cases.

Ganjam District Collector V A Kulange said that of the 102 positive cases reported on Wednesday, 43 were COVID Warriors -- health workers and those looking after coronavirus patients.

With another National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel contracting the infection, the number of disaster response personnel testing positive for the deadly virus has risen to 294. The number of infections in the Border Security Force (BSF) is 53, the official said.

On Wednesday, 164 patients recovered from the disease and discharged from hospitals.

The number of active cases in the state now stands at 1,930.

The state tested 5,247 samples in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests conducted so far to 2,70,678.

Meanwhile, the authorities issued directions to operate government offices with 50 per cent of the staff starting from the Lok Seva Bhavan, the highest administrative building in the state capital to the panchayat-level.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation on Wednesday sealed the Bhubaneswar Development Authority office building for two days after two of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.

"We will sanitise the entire BDA building," BMC Commissioner PC Chaudhury said.