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In another big spike, Odisha recorded massive 3664 positive cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the active n-CoV cases to beyond 20,000 in the state. Two Covid-infected persons, one from Bargarh and another from Sundargarh district, succumbed to the disease during the period. BIG SPIKE recorded in Odisha! Daily Covid-19 cases cross 3500-mark in Odisha. ACTIVE CASES breach 20k-mark in Odisha. 3664 n-CoV positive cases reported in Odisha in last 24 hours. 2127 cases in QUARANTINE, 1537 LOCAL CONTACT cases. 1 death reported from Bargarh, 1 from Sundargarh. Death toll in Odisha mounts to 1944. In last 24 hours, KHORDHA reports maximum 704 Covid-19 cases. 340 cases in Sundargarh, 324 in Kalahandi, 221 in Nuapada, 210 in Bargarh, 199 in Sambalpur, 198 in Cuttack, 183 in Jharsuguda, 143 in Puri, 119 in Mayurbhanj district. ACTIVE Covid-19 cases in Odisha rise To 21436. Total corona positive cases so far in Odisha at 3,68,258. Total recoveries at 3,44,825.

Bringing laurels to the country, the Navonmesh Prasar Student Astronomy Team (NaPSAT) from Odisha has managed to make history again! This was the first ever high school team to represent India at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Now this same team of 10 enthusiastic students has managed to bag 3rd position in the ‘Overall Category’ as well as the ‘Best Videography Award’ in the high school division. The prestigious awards were announced on April 16th on a virtual platform. The news was also announced by NASA on its official twitter handle. The NaPSAT team secured third position in the overall category in the high school division. Parish Episcopal School Team 1, Dallas, Texas and Stillwater Area High School, Stillwater, Minnesota bagged the first and second positions respectively. The team also proved its mettle in another category and bagged the ‘Best Videography Award’ in the high school division. The NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge is an annual competition held by NASA for high school and university students. Students have to design, build and test a rover, capable of traversing exoplanetary-like landscapes as well as work on communication, management, stem engagement, etc. The team from Odisha had built a rover named NaPSAT 1.0 under the guidance of Young Tinker and the Navonmesh Prasar Foundation. The rover made by the team is capable of traversing all different kinds of terrains which brought it success at this year’s competition.

This is your forecast for April 19-25 : Know What This Week Has In Store For You

In the wake of rising cases of COVID-19 in the country, the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Sunday postponed the April Session of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2021. NTA said that the decision has been taken keeping in mind the present situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and also taking into account the safety and well-being of the candidates and examination functionaries. The JEE (Main) -2021 April Session was scheduled for 27, 28, and 30 April. According to the official notification of NTA, the revised dates for the JEE (Main) — 2021 April session will be announced later on and at least 15 days before the examination. The National Testing Agency is organizing the JEE (Main) — 2021 in four sessions. Two of these sessions have already been completed in February and March. The Session 1 was held from 23 to 26 February 2021 and Session 2 from 16 to 18 March. The candidates have been advised to frequently visit the official websites of NTA (www.nta.ac.in) and (jeemain.nta.nic.in) for the latest updates. Earlier, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) which was scheduled to be held today (April 18) was also postponed in light of the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country. In the last 24 hours, India has reported 2,61,500 new COVID-19 cases and 1,501 deaths, in what is said to be its highest ever single-day spike.

With over 2.61 lakh Covid-19 cases, India has recorded the biggest single-day spike pushing the country's tally to 1.47 crore. In the last 24 hours, the country also witnessed death of as many as 1501 persons due to the virus. India sees a grim record of MOST FATALITIES due to COVID-19 in one day. RECORD 1,501 people succumbed to COVID-19 disease in India in last 24 hours. Death toll in India mounts to 1,77,150. Shattering its own record, India saw a massive surge of 2,61,500 new COVID-19 cases in 1 day. Total COVID cases in India reached 1,47,88,109 India's active cases rose to 18,01,316 after today's surge. India is now the 4th-worst hit country in terms of active cases. In the last 24 hours, 1,38,423 persons recuperated from the disease. The number of recoveries in India now stand at 1,28,09,643. India's recovery rate slips to 86.62 per cent.

Sonu Sood has hogged all headlines for assisting thousands of poor people across the country ever since the pandemic broke out in the country. The actor was again in news on Saturday after he said that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Through a sand art, Odia artist Satyanarayan Maharana has prayed to God for the actor’s good health and quick recovery.

Odisha government has issued an advisory for Kumbh Mela participants. The State government on Saturday asked Collectors and Municipal Commissioners to contact all persons from Odisha who have participated in the Kumbh Mela and advise them to get their RT-PCR tests done before boarding train or flight to Odisha. The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has shared the list of persons who have registered with Uttarakhand Government for participating In Kumbh Mela, and has asked Collectors and Municipal Commissioners to contact all these persons and find out the location, travel plan and make sure they get their RTPCR test done before boarding train/ flight to Odisha. All of them shall be directed to stay in quarantine for 14 days at home or in Cluster TMCs. If Covid-like symptoms are noticed, the returnees should be immediately attended to, and ASHA and Anganwadi workers must visit them regularly in home / Cluster TMCs and monitor their health condition. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought a curtailment of the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. During his conversation with Swami Awadeshananda Giri over telephone, PM Modi made a suggestion that with the Shahi Snans (rituals baths in the Ganga on specific dates) already over, the rest of the events could be undertaken in a symbolic way. Swami Awadeshananda Giri, who heads the Juna akhara, later announced that protecting the lives of Indians was more important amid the rising pandemic and that the akhara on Saturday performed the ritual of immersion of deities, which usually happens at the end of the Kumbh.

Corporal punishment turned fatal for a minor girl in Odisha after she inadvertently walked into her death trap to save herself from another beating.  The minor girl was crushed to death by an earth-moving machine while she was hiding inside a tyre. The gut wrenching incident was reported from Angutha village under Soro Police Limits of Balasore district on Friday (April 16). Sources said that the child, identified as eight-year-old Asha Bindhani, was severely reprimanded and beaten by her mother at home over a trivial issue. Fearing further scolding, the scared child went into hiding inside a discarded tyre at a stone crusher unit adjacent to her house. But little did she know that death was waiting to pounce on her. An earthmoving machine operating at the crusher unit went over the tyre, crushing Asha to death on the spot. With rising cases of corporal punishment at home and at schools, psychologists stated that parental negligence and harsh behaviour can cause detrimental damage to the impressionable minds of young children.

It was on this day, Odisha saw the birth of Odisha Television - OTV, which, as years passed by went on to become a household name not just in Odisha but is claimed to be the go-to Odia news channel for Odias across the globe.

Cases of infections are exploding in every state. Odisha on Monday registered 4445 Covid-19 cases, reportedly the highest since the pandemic began. The surge has raised the positive tally in the state to 3,72,703. While so far 3,46,134 of them have recuperated from the disease, the active case stood at 24,568 on Monday. Four fatalities in the last 24 hours has pushed the death toll in the state to 1948. 2574 of the new cases are from quarantine, and the rest 1871 are local transmission cases. With 722 new positive cases in a day, Sundargarh continues to be the worst-affected district and houses maximum number of active cases in the state. Sundargarh is followed by Khordha which reported 587 new infections during the day. Next in the list is Nuapada which saw a big spike of 437 fresh cases of coronavirus. 273 new positive cases were reported in Kalahandi, 251 in Cuttack, 241 in Sambalpur, 231 in Jharsuguda, 219 in Puri, 123 in Balasore, 178 in Bargarh, 168 in Bolangir, 127 in Nabarangpur, and 100 cases in Mayurbhanj. The test positivity rate (TPR) of Odisha looks concerning. On Sunday, Odisha has tested a little over 36000 samples of which 4445 were found positive. Yesterday's TPR stood at 10.6 and it has suddenly jumped to 12.3 today, which clearly gives an indication that more positive cases will emerge if the state increases the daily testing. As per reports, the highest single-day spike Odisha had witnessed was in September last year when the state detected as many as 4,340 COVID-19 cases.

With an alarming rise in Covid-19 infection and reports of shortage of oxygen supply for Covid-19 patients across several states, the Indian Railways is gearing up for transporting Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) and oxygen cylinders across key corridors of the country. To facilitate these Oxygen Express Trains and ensure fast movement, Green Corridors are being created rapidly. As per reports, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra state governments had approached Ministry of Railways to explore the possibility of transporting LMO tankers through railways. The Railways immediately explored the technical feasibility of transportation of LMO. On April 17th, a meeting was held between Railway Board officials and State Transport Commissioners and representatives of industry on the subject of issues related to transportation of Liquid Medical Oxygen. It was decided that the tankers would be organized by Transport Commissioner, Maharashtra. These empty tankers would be moved from Kalamboli/Boisar, Railway stations in and near Mumbai, and sent to Vizag and Jamshedpur/Rourkela/Bokaro, for loading of liquid medical oxygen tankers. Instructions have been issued to Zonal Railways to ensure readiness to receive the trailers and load them back. Ramps have to be built at Vizag, Angul and Bhilai and the existing ramp at Kalamboli is to be strengthened. The Railway Ministry said that Kalamboli ramp would be made ready by April 19. Ramps at other locations would also be ready in a couple of days by the time the tankers reach those locations. The Zonal Railways have been informed regarding the demands from State Governments. Chief Freight Traffic Managers (CFTMs) and Principal Chief Operations Manager (PCOMs) are in touch with the Industry and State Governments. Railway Board has directed concerned General Managers to be fully prepared and proactively assist the State and Central Government Agencies in movement of Oxygen by Rail.

The second wave of Covid-19 pandemic continues to paint a grim picture in the country. India witnessed a record one-day spike after 2,73,810 positive cases were detected in the last 24 hours. As per the data provided by the Union Health Ministry, the country recorded 1619 fatalities, taking the total death toll to 1,78,769. With the addition of the new figures, the current number of active cases stands at 19,29,329. Meanwhile, 1,44,178 people have been discharged in the last 24 hours and around 1.29 crore people have recovered from the infection so far. Till date, the total official number of Covid-19 cases was recorded at 1,50,61,919. Additionally, almost 12.3 Crore people have been vaccinated so far in the country.

The famous Lingaraj Temple in Bhubanenswar has been closed for public darshan. The decision was taken by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday (April 18th) in larger public interest after a number of servitors of the 11th century shrine tested positive for Covid-19. As per an advisory issued by the BMC, the public entry into the shrine is restricted until further orders to curb the spread of the virus. However, the temple will remain open for usual rituals which will be conducted by the servitors only. The Ashokastami Car Festival will be observed by the temple administration as per the plan. As many as four servitors of Lingaraj temple tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. The temple was reopened for devotees on January 6th, 2021, after it had been closed for nine months because of the pandemic restrictions last year.

In an act of sheer courage, Central Railway Pointsman, Mayur Shelkhe, at Mumbai Division’s Vangani Station, saved the life of a child in the nick of time. The child lost his balance while walking on platform no. 2 and slipped on to the rail tracks at Vagani Station in Mumbai on Saturday (April 17). When Shelkhe realised this, he put his own life at risk, ran towards him and saved the child’s life. His act of courage and selflessness garnered praise from Indian Railways as well as from Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.

With COVID19 cases exploding in Delhi, CM Arvind Kejriwal announced a 6-day lockdown citing that there is no other option left to save the healthcare system from collapsing.