Five more COVID-19 cases in Odisha; total tally 60

Five persons, including a woman, tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha on Tuesday, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 60, a senior health department official said.

Of the five new cases, three are from Bomikhal and one from Jharpada in Bhubaneswar while another is from Jajpur district, Director of Health Bijay Mohapatra said.

Both Bomikhal and Jharpada in the state capital have already been declared containment zones. "The state capital has emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot in Odisha as 46 cases have been reported from here," an official said.

The new patient from Jharpada isa 51-year-old man who came in contact with a person infected with the disease earlier, Mohapatra said.

Of the three fresh cases from Bomikhal, one is a 51-year-old woman and two others are men, aged 50 years and 75, he said, adding that all of them are residents of an apartment where COVID-19 cases were found earlier.

They are undergoing treatment in a hospital in the city, dedicated for the COVID-19patients.

A 66-year-old man from Jajpur district, who had recently returned from Kolkata in a private van, tested positive for the deadly virus, the official said.

He has been admitted to a hospital in Cuttack, which is also a dedicated facility for treatment of coronavirus-infected patients.

The Jajpur district administration on Tuesday declared three villages as containment zones for seven days.

With these new patients, the number of active cases in the state increased to 41 while 18 persons have recovered from the disease.

A 72-year-old patient from the state capital died of the disease on April 6.

Of the recovered patients, 12 are from Bhubaneswar, two from Bhadrak and one each from Cuttack, Jajpur, Puri and Kalahandi.

Reviewing the COVID-19situation, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said he was satisfied with the number of recovered patients and with the efforts of the government machinery.

"With the combined efforts of all, Odisha is winning the fight against COVID-19," the health and family welfare department tweeted.

National Health Mission director Shalini Pandit said more than 80 per cent of the patients in the state are asymptomatic and many of them will not require hospital care.

The tests for coronavirus are presently being done at RMRC, AIIMS and ILS in Bhubaneswar, SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.

"Laboratory development and equipment installation work are going on in full swing at VIMSAR in Burla for commencing COVID-19 testing at the earliest," the officials said.