Odisha Health Director allays fresh COVID surge fears, urges not to panic 

Odisha public health director Dr Niranjan Mishra on Monday played down any reason for fears over a fresh outbreak of COVID in the State soon.

There is no need to panic now as most of the districts in the State barring a few are not reporting any fresh Covid-19 positive cases, said Mishra. 

The public health director’s statement came in the backdrop of several states registering a spike in the number of Covdi-19 cases. 

“Since the reporting of fresh cases has been next to nothing, even a slight increase seems to be a surge in the cases. In case of our State, only seven to eight districts are reporting positives and that too in single digits. So there is no need to panic. We are keeping an eye on the situation. If required, we will take necessary preventive measures,” said Mishra. 

“The Collectors have been directed to remain alert. As per the ICMR guidelines, the number of tests has been increased. The district administrations have been asked to keep a vigil on places reporting cluster outbreak and high risk population," Dr Mishra added.  

Notably, Odisha on Monday reported 13 new Covid-19 cases, including two from 0-18 age groups. Sambalpur reported maximum three cases, followed by Bolangir, Khordha and Kendrapara (two each) and Balasore, Cuttack, Puri and Sonepur (one each).