Odisha on Wednesday logged 161 new Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day count in the last three months, raising concern of further spurt in infection with hardly 48 hours left for the annual Rath Yatra and expected participation of lakhs of devotees in it.

The daily infection has gone up by 48% while the test positivity rate (TPR) crossed one per cent (pc) mark. Similarly, the number of Covid-free districts with no active case has made a nosedive to six only while as many as 15 districts did not record any active case last week, thus hinting towards the growth of the disease.

The sole comforting feature lies in the fact that the State has not logged any Covid fatality for more than two months. Besides, hospitalization cases are also very negligible.

The State’s health authorities however allayed fear of the situation going out of control. Of the new infections, Khurda district of which Bhubaneswar is a part with 60 cases accounted for around 50% of new infections.

The new COVID-19 cases were recorded at 1.2% Test Positivity Rate (TPR) in the last 24 hours while the cumulative tally went up to 12,89,602, said the health and family welfare department.

The death toll stood at 9,126 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported for more than one month. Besides, 53 other coronavirus patients have died due to comorbidities so far. The State has not recorded Covid fatality for almost two months.

Odisha now has 629 active cases, while 12,79,794 patients have recovered from the disease, including 49 in the last 24 hours. So far, 6 out of 30 districts of the State have so far turned Coronavirus-free with zero active cases, the department informed.

The State’s share is 3% in the country’s confirmed virus caseload while the active cases are 3.96% of India’s total active cases. The number of cured patients accounts for 3.01% of the country’s total recovery. Odisha has so far reported 1.75% of the country’s Coronavirus deaths.

Meanwhile, the State government has made it binding upon the devotees participating in Puri Rath Yatra to sport face masks. It has been decided to distribute over 10 lakh masks for those who will participate in pulling of chariots during 1 July Rath Yatra in Puri.