Odisha reports highest single-day spike of 12,523 new Covid-19 cases

Odisha on Friday reported

the highest single-day spike of 12,523 new COVID-19 cases and a record 27 more deaths, a Health Department official said.

The new cases were recorded after testing 61,665 samples on Thursday, taking the positivity rate to 20.30 per cent.

The state has so far reported 6,68,422 cases of COVID-19 and 2,430 deaths.

Of the new infections, 7,012 were detected at different quarantine centres and the remaining 5,511 were local contact cases.

Khurda district, of which the state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the highest 1,842 new cases, followed by Cuttack (1084), Angul (930), Sundargarh (715), Puri (568) and Mayurbhanj (546).

Only two districts -- Gajapati (53) and Malkangiri (73) -- reported less than 100 new cases, the health official said.

Khurda and Koraput reported four deaths each, followed by three deaths each in Nuapada, Rayagada and Sundergarh.

There are 1,09,438 active cases in the state at present.

In all, 5,56,501 patients have been cured of the diseases, including 9,870 in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government discontinued plasma therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 in the state as per the revised guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.