Odisha reports 3,235 new Covid-19 cases, 16 fresh fatalities in a day

Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 2,12,609 on Monday as 3,235 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

The state's coronavirus death toll rose to 813 as 16 more patients succumbed to the infection, he said.

As many as 4,014 more people were cured of the disease, taking the recovery rate among COVID-19 patients in the state to 83.52 per cent, the official said.

Khurda district, under which Bhubaneswar falls, reported the highest number of new cases at 506, followed by Cuttack (318) and Angul (179), he said.

As many as 1,915 new cases were detected in quarantine centres, while 1,320 people tested positive for the infection during contact tracing, the official said.

Three fresh fatalities were reported in Balasore, two each in Khurda, Mayurbhanj and Puri and one each in Bolangir, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur, he said.

Odisha now has 34,158 active coronavirus cases, while 1,77,585 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said.

Fifty-three COVID-19 patients have died due to other ailments so far, he said.

The state has so far tested over 31.59 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 47,634 on Sunday, the official said.

The fire service wing of the state police has decided to undertake a fire audit of all the COVID-19 hospitals in the state to ensure the safety of the patients, DG (Fire Service) Satyajit Mohanty.

The decision was taken after a fire incident at a COVID-19 hospital in Cuttack district on September 21.

"Fire personnel will visit the COVID-19 hospitals every fortnight to conduct fire audits and emergency drills," he said.

The state government has decided to provide 'COVID-19 kits' comprising oximeter, glucometer, thermal scanner, hot and cold bag and sphygmomanometer to all the 56 old-age homes in the state, Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) Minister Ashok Chandra Panda said.

Authorities of the Nandankanan Zoological Park have decided to reopen the zoo for the public from October 4.

Wearing of masks will be mandatory and a limited number of people will be allowed to enter the zoo to maintain social distancing, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Hari Shankar Upadhyay said.

The zoo has been shut since March 15 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.