Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday urged people to stay indoors during the Dussera celebration.
“COVID-19 positive cases in Odisha have started to come down during past two weeks. When on September 26, daily spike was above 4,000 cases, today it has dropped below 2,000 [cases a day]. The positivity rate has also fallen and, in future, cases will decline,” said Mr. Patnaik in a televised address on Tuesday.
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“Two months back, Ganjam was a hotspot in the State, reporting hundreds of cases every day. The situation in Ganjam and Gajapati district has largely improved due to community participation and the efforts of COVID warriors. These two districts have become inspirations for others,” he said.
“People should not draw self-satisfaction from this. The character profile of coronavirus is very critical. We need to stay alert till the vaccine and drugs for the disease are made available,” said Odisha CM.
“The pandemic had assumed critical proportion in European countries during March and April. Many people had lost their lives. Subsequently, the infection rate came down. Now, the contagion has taken upward movement,” Mr. Patnaik pointed out.
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On September 1, daily reporting of cases was above 1,200, and the daily spike again touched 17,000 on October 8. Similarly, France reported daily increase of 3,000 cases on August 31, and the daily spike rose to 26,000 cases on October 10.
Stating that Kerala had managed the pandemic wonderfully, Mr. Patnaik said the rate of infection in the southern State had tripled after the famous Onam festival.
“Experts have predicted that COVID-19 will turn for worse in the winter season. Durga Puja and Deepavali will be celebrated in the near future. All should worship silently with family members by staying indoors. If infection goes up, family members would suffer. All should stay alert,” urged the CM.
For the second time in the past two months, the daily spike in cases has dropped below 2,000 in the State. Odisha’s tally increased to 2,72,250 cases with 1,904 new cases reported on Tuesday. Active cases stood at 21,454, after the recovery of 2,49,575 patients. COVID-19 fatalities rose to 1,168, following the death of 16 persons.