Odisha on Saturday reported close to 30% of total fresh infections from the community that indicated deterioration in COVID-19 pandemic situation in the State.
Worried over community transmission, local administrations have started controlling intra-district movements and emphasising on isolation for persons coming from high infection districts.
As many as 495 new coronavirus cases were detected during past 24 hours, taking the State’s total to 8,601. Among fresh cases, 355 were from quarantine centres while 140 were from community, accounting for 28.28%.
On Friday, as many as 136 of the 561 COVID-19 positive cases were identified as local. Similarly, in the first two days of July, around 80 local cases were detected from outside quarantine centres.
Ganjam was again worst affected, reporting 216 cases — over 200 cases in consecutive days. Now, total positive cases in the district alone crossed 2,000 mark. The State government on Saturday appointed two IAS officers as additional District Magistrates for two subdivisions of Ganjam.
For the first time, the State reported five deaths in a single day, taking the toll to 34.