Odisha logs 10,273 new Covid cases, 4 more deaths

The death toll mounted to 8,476 as four more persons succumbed to the disease, the highest single-day COVID fatalities in more than two months, it said.

The daily test positivity rate (TPR) rose to 13.57 per cent from 12.41 per cent the previous day, the bulletin said.

At least 1,065 children were among the newly-infected patients.

Khurda district, which comprises the state capital Bhubaneswar, reported one-third of the fresh infections as 3,496 people were afflicted with the disease.

There were 1,049 new cases in Sundargarh, 844 in Cuttack, 529 in Sambalpur and 457 in Balasore.

Odisha now has 53,171 active cases, including 17,354 in Khurda, which is in the red zone along with Sundargarh, Sambalpur and Cuttack. Districts with over 2,500 active infections are included in the red zone.

Puri, Balasore and Mayurbhanj are among the six districts that are in the yellow zone with over 1,000 patients each.

The four fatalities were reported from Cuttack, Bhadrak, Sundargarh and Jagatsinghpur districts, the bulletin said. The state had previously recorded four COVID deaths on November 8.

Fifty-three other coronavirus-positive patients have died due to comorbidities so far, according to data.

At least 1,447 patients recuperated from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 10,50,179.

The state conducted 75,731 sample tests for COVID-19 on Thursday, down from 81,065 the previous day, the bulletin added.

Meanwhile, Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka said he had tested positive for the disease and isolated himself at home.

''Request all those who have come in contact with me in the last few days to isolate themselves and get tested,'' Ulaka wrote Twitter on Friday.

Health Services Director Bijay Mohapatra stressed on the need to avoid overcrowding in hospitals and urged people with minor symptoms to avail telemedicine services instead of visiting the outpatient departments in health facilities.

''Surgeries that were scheduled in advance can be done later, but emergency procedures can't be stopped,'' he told reporters.

The state is in a ''better position if the hospitalisation rate at the current TPR is compared to that of the second wave,'' he said.

''But, we shouldn't be complacent,'' he added.