Two fresh COVID-19 cases in Odisha, total count rises to 44

Two more COVID-19 cases were reported in Odisha on Thursday, taking the total number of people afflicted with the dreaded virus to 44 in the state so far, health department official said.

A 51-year-old woman from Dhenkanal town tested positive for COVID-19 while an elderly man from West Bengal's Medinipur district was also diagnosed with the infection here, a senior official said.

"Two new COVID-19 positive cases confirmed today," the Health and Family Welfare department tweeted.

The 69-year-old man from West Bengal was brought to Bhubaneswar in an ambulance and admitted at a private hospital here, the official said.

Earlier, 34 cases were reported from Khurda, three from Bhadrak and one each from Cuttack, Kendrapara, Kalahandi, Puri and Jajpur.

Now Dhenkanal is added to the list of districts where COVID-19 cases were detected in the state.

With COVID 19 cases rising steadily, the Odisha government on Thursday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the state till April 30 to effectively contain the spread of coronavirus.