Bhubaneswar: A day after Centre dashes a letter to Odisha over Covid-19 management, State Director of Health Dr Bijay Kumar Mohapatra Sunday said that the Covid-19 situation in Odisha is better than that of the country.
While the positivity rate in India is 1.1 per cent, Odisha has reported 0.4 per cent, in the month of November, Dr.Mohapatra said.
Yesterday, the Union Health Ministry wrote a letter to State’s ACS Health RK Sharma expressing concern over Covid situation in six Odisha districts. He had asked the State to ramp up the testing in those districts.
“We are conducting 4,542 tests per lakh population against the National average of 2,685 per lakh. On Saturday, we conducted more than 59,000 tests. Testing might be impacted slightly due to the rains, but the State’s testing average is better than that across India,” claimed the Director.
If compared to the national Covid case fatality rate, Odisha is in a better position, he said, adding, State’s case fatality rate is 0.8 per cent, the national figure is 1.3 per cent.
What these figures suggest is that the Covid-19 situation in the State is under control, he added.
Dr.Mohapatra further said the Union Health Secretary’s letter is not about the present situation, but about last week’s situation. Last week, as many as 53 Covid-19 cases were reported from Dhenkanal district. In the meantime, the picture has changed for the better, he pointed out.
No district is reporting any surge of cases. Khordha district which used to report 150/200 cases daily is reporting around 80, he concluded.
However, though the State’s figures are encouraging, it is no way a reason for the people to be complacent. “We need to be alert, and strictly adhere to COVID guidelines as specified by the State Government and Centre,” advised the Director.
