Odisha on Monday logged 3,329 new cases and 18 more deaths while the daily test positivity rate (TPR) of the State dipped 5.87% in the last 24 hours, the Health and Family Welfare department’s COVID dashboard informed.

Even though the drop in daily cases and a steady dip in positivity is a reassuring development, the recent spurt in daily fatalities continues to be a worrying development. The daily death toll crossed the double-digit mark for the fourth day in a row. Nonetheless, the health authorities claimed the majority of those who succumbed to the disease of late were afflicted with co-morbidities. Therefore, things as far as the rise in fatalities are not alarming as they appeared to be.

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There has been a sudden fall in daily sample testing in the past one week or so. While 56,708 samples were clinically tested in the last 24 hours, the sample testing which was in the 60,000-70,000 range during the first two weeks of January now hovers around the 55,000-60,000 mark. The lesser number of testing is not a positive development at this crucial juncture at a time when the infection curve is showing signs of flattening.

With the latest daily infection count, the cumulative tally has climbed to 12,49,240, while the State currently has 47,210 active cases. While 663 positives are from the 0-18 year age group among the new infectees, the recoveries have surpassed the daily cases, marking the slowdown in infection.

A total of 11,93,365 patients have recovered from the disease so far, including 9,191 in the past 24 hours. The State has so far registered 347 Omicron variants.

Khurda district, which includes the state capital Bhubaneswar, continues to be State’s Covid hotspot and reported the highest number of new cases at 646, followed by Cuttack (293), Sundargarh (237), Mayurbhanj (145), Balasore (141), Nuapada (129) and Nayagarh (120).

All the 30 districts in the State currently have active cases while Khordha, Sundargarh, and Cuttack with over 2,500 active cases are placed in the red zone. Seven other districts with above 1,000 active cases are bracketed in the yellow zone category while the remaining 20 districts figure in the green zone with fewer than 1,000 active cases.

The State’s recovery rate currently stands at 95.52% while active cases account for 4.26% of total positive cases registered in the State.

The State’s share is 3.34% in the country’s confirmed virus caseload while the active cases are 2.85% of India’s total active cases. The number of cured patients accounts for 3.39% of the country’s total recovery. Odisha has so far reported 1.77% of the country’s Coronavirus deaths.

The State’s health authorities have so far administered 5,68,23,168 COVID-19 vaccine doses while 2,44,15,319 people out of 3.09 crore eligible adult population are fully vaccinated. A total of 4,29,762 have so far received booster or precaution doses so far. Around 79% of the eligible population has so far received both doses of vaccine.