JOIN USOdisha reports rise in Covid-19 cases ahead of Durga Puja
Ahead of the Durga Puja festival, Odisha witnessed a slight rise of Covid-19 cases, as the state reported 652 fresh infections on Sunday, 126 more than the previous day, a health department official said.
The coronavirus tally rose to 10,31,696 in the coastal state, while the death toll also climbed to 8,249 with seven new fatalities - Khurda (5), Angul and Nabarangpur (1 each) - he said.
Odisha had logged 526 fresh cases on Saturday, 524 on Friday, 582 on Thursday and 593 on Wednesday.
Among the new infections reported on Sunday, 92 or 14.11 per cent are children and adolescents in the age group of 0-18 years.
Khurda district registered the highest of 331 single-day cases followed by Cuttack at 70, the official said.
Six districts - Boudh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri - did not report any fresh case in the last 24 hours.
The state now has 5,083 active cases, and 10,18,311 patients have recovered from the disease, including 597 since Saturday.
It has thus far conducted over 2.06 crore sample tests. The positivity rate stands at 5 per cent.
The official said a total of 93,73,608 people have been inoculated with double doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
Meanwhile, the state government has extended the night curfew by two hours in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from October 11 to October 20.
The night curfew will be imposed from 8 pm to 5 am, said Commissioner of Police S K Priyadarshi.
“We will take stern action against people who violate the guidelines and night curfew restrictions during the period… If need arises, arrests will be made following review of the extent of violation,” he said.
Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporations have already issued guidelines for Durga Puja celebrations.
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