COVID-19 News Updates

After a high-level meeting, the State Health Department secretary Shalini Pandit said that even though Covid testing in Odisha is satisfactory as per the national average, it has been decided to ramp up testing across the state.

Corbevax is an indigenously developed peptide-based vaccine that is different from the viral vector (Covishield) or the inactivated vaccine (Covaxin).

Odisha Health and Family Welfare Director Dr Bijay Panigrahi informed that vaccination has stopped in the State since November 28 and said the Centre will be requested to supply doses of vaccines.  

The Odisha government is going to issue a fresh Covid advisory by this evening in view of rising cases of infections across the globe.

Mandaviya said this while responding to queries of some Opposition MPs after his suo moto statement in Rajya Sabha on the latest COVID-19 situation and India's preparedness.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Home Minister Amit Shah, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and top officials attended the virtual meeting.

In his statement in the Lok Sabha, Mandaviya said already random sampling of arriving international travellers has started at airports in the country.

The Odisha Health Services Director Bijay Mohapatra asked people to take booster doses to help boost the immunity system.

The meeting comes a day after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the situation and asked people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks in crowded places, and getting vaccinated.

Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said: "In China, what's been reported is relatively low numbers of cases in ICUs, but anecdotally ICUs are filling up.

Three cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, apparently the strain driving China's current surge of Covid cases, have been detected in India so far, including one in Odisha, forcing the State to make robust arrangements for genome sequencing to detect the subvariant.

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Taking to Twitter, the Minister said: In view of the rising cases of Covid19 in some countries, reviewed the situation with experts and officials today.

The first case of BF.7 in India was detected in October by Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre. So far, two cases have been reported from Gujarat while one case has been reported from Odisha