Higher COVID-19 Cases Detected Due To Intensive Testing, No Need To Panic

Bhubaneswar : The number of COVID-19 cases in Odisha has spiralled upwards significantly over the past 15 days. As Odisha’s COVID-19 case load crossed 20,000 mark today, Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department urged people not to panic.

The increase in number of positive cases is because of the intensive door-to-door health survey which is being carried out. Anyone who is symptomatic, is tested and if found positive for coronavirus, he or she is sent to COVID Care, COVID Hospital or advised for home isolation depending on condition of the patient, said Mohapatra.

“As per the instructions of our Chief Minister, the Health and Family Welfare Department has set a target to reach out to each symptomatic case and conduct the COVID-19 test. We are chasing the virus from door to door, which is why the number of COVID cases has increased in the last two weeks,” Mohapatra said.

“The people of the State do not need to panic by seeing the numbers. By working hand-in-hand we can check the spread of COVID-19.”

Sharing further details, the ACS Health said, at present 37.20 per cent of beds COVID treatment facilities across Odisha are occupied. The H&FW Department has asked district Collectors to predict their medical infrastructure requirement till December.

“We have prepared to face the situation (rise in number of COVID-19 cases) till August 31. Similarly, by August 15, we will prepare a roadmap to meet the requirement (patient load) till September last. Odisha has been preparing in advance from the beginning. Our approach has been scientific as well as technical which is why Odisha has controlled the situation better,” added Mohapatra.

More than 70 per cent cases in Odisha are asymptomatic. These people can isolate themselves at home for 10 days with which they can recover. Mohapatra requested asymptomatic COVID patients who have separate toilets and room at home to stay in isolation for 10 days rather than getting hospitalised. This will reduce the load on COVID hospitals, besides the patient can recover in a homely atmosphere. In Bhubaneswar itself, 103 patients who are asymptomatic are staying at home with proper isolation, he informed.

Odisha is doing good on the testing front. Today itself, 11,000 RT-PCR tests have been conducted. There are 19 labs conducting these tests and six more are coming up. This apart, roughly around 3,000 antigen test are carried out in the State every day. “No State has been able to reverse the trend of the rising number of cases. But Odisha has done good so far in terms of recover and fatality rates as compared to several other major States in the country,” Mohapatra added.