Pradeep Singh

News Highlights

  • 40% of the positives detected in Odisha are from the Twin City alone
  • Fully vaccinated people are getting infected and spreading the virus

Though the COVID-19 infection graph is on a declining trend across Odisha, the situation is yet to improve in the Twin Cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. While the total active cases in Bhubaneswar stands at 1164, Cuttack has a total of 3191 active cases.

The State government has also been expressing concerns over the blatant violation of Covid guidelines and overcrowding at several places in these two mega cities.

Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra on Thursday informed that out of the total number of cases detected in the State every day, 40 per cent of the positives are being reported from the Twin City alone. 

In Khordha district, more positive cases are being reported from Bhubaneswar as against the total infections in rural areas. However, the situation is different in Cuttack as the district is witnessing more positives from rural belts.

What worries the government more is that fully vaccinated people are getting infected from the virus. The State Chief Secretary today informed that a significant chunk of the fully vaccinated people have been detected positive recently and they can spread the virus to others.

"Those who are vaccinated are having mild symptoms but they can spread the virus to others and in fact, are spreading," said Mohapatra.

Why COVID-19 Cases Not Decreasing In The Twin City

It is alleged that the rampant violation of the Covid norms by people and lack of stricter enforcement of the guidelines are the reasons behind the current worrisome situation in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

Moreover, huge rush of people to the Capital city and the presence of some premier health centres in the Millenium city are resulting in an increase in the Covid case load.

“Bhubaneswar has a population of around 13-14 lakh while Cuttack has 10-11 lakh inhabitants, and hence, infections will happen. Besides, some big hospital are in Bhubaneswar due to which people from several areas are coming to the city. Therefore, the cases are getting increased,” reasoned health expert, Ashok Mohapatra.

“The Delta variant of the virus is spreading in these regions and it infects people more. Moreover, no effective measures seem to have been taken to avoid the huge rush in market places and khattis (road-corner gatherings of people), especially in Cuttack,” said health expert, Sidharth Das.

Nevertheless, it is believed that the spread of the virus can't be contained without the cooperation of people and stricter enforcement of the Covid norms.

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