COVID-19 death toll rises to 3 in Odisha; 68 new cases

Ganjam district in Odisha reported its first COVID-19 death after a man succumbed to the infection on Sunday, taking the death toll in the state to three, a health department official said.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Odisha has climbed to 362, with 68 more testing positive for the disease, the official said.

Ganjam District Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said the state government will soon release the details of the patient who died.

Despite a spurt in COVID-19 cases in the district, the situation is under control as the fresh infections are being detected among those in quarantine centres, he said.

Kulange warned people against loitering near the centres and said the violators would be sent to isolation centres set up in faraway places.

The Ganjam district administration has already banned the movement of people within a 100-metre radius of temporary medical camps.

The sarpanchs of Madhupalli and Mandara gram panchayats in Polasara block in the district have declared a complete shutdown in the areas.

Odisha Assembly Speaker S N Patro discussed the situation in the district with the collector and other elected representatives through video conference. He is the MLA from Digapahandi seat in the district.

Around 40,000 people are lodged in 2,983 quarantine centres in Ganjam district.

Of the fresh cases reported from the state during the day, at least 41 are those who returned from Surat in Gujarat recently, the health department official said.

Last month, Odisha reported two COVID-19 deaths - both in state capital Bhubaneswar.

Of the 68 new cases, 29 were detected in Ganjam district, 15 in Balasore, six in Bhadrak, four in Jajpur and one in Mayurbhanj. Angul district registered coronavirus cases for the first time, with 13 people there contracting the virus.

Following the detection of COVID-19 cases in Angul, District Collector Manoj Mohanty said all restrictions applicable to the Red Zone category areas have been imposed.

Twenty of the 30 districts in the state have reported COVID-19 cases.

The number of active cases in the state has climbed to 291. At least 68 people have recovered from the disease.

Ganjam tops the list of COVID-19 cases with 118 persons found positive, followed by 59 in Jajpur, 50 in Bhubaneswar in Khurda district, 42 in Balasore, 31 in Bhadrak, 13 each in Angul and Sundergarh, eight each in Kendrapara and Mayurbhanj, and five in Jagatsinghpur.

Two cases each have been detected in Bolangir, Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi and Keonjhar, while one each in Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Kouraput, Nayagarh and Puri.

The COVID-19 mortality rate in Odisha stands at 0.6 per cent, said Jayant Panda, the health department spokesperson.

On Saturday, 3,458 samples were examined in the state. A total of 59,780 samples have been tested so far.

The state government issued directions for segregating symptomatic cases from the rest in quarantine centres.

In a letter, Additional Chief Secretary P K Mohapatra directed district collectors, municipal commissioners and executive officers of urban local bodies to shift symptomatic cases identified after screening to the designated COVID care centres.

The officials have also been told to test vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, children under the age of five, physically and mentally challenged persons, people above 60 years and those with co-morbid conditions on priority.

Besides, they have been directed to strictly follow the government guidelines at these centres, including repeated hand washing, wearing face mask and social distancing.