Bhubaneswar: Covid-19 daily caseload in Odisha breached the 500-mark on Monday when 573 people tested positive for the infection in the last 24 hours, informed the State Health And Family Welfare Department on Monday. This is the highest single-day spike of coronavirus cases reported this year.
The State had last posted 500-plus cases on November 28, 2020 when 518 people had tested positive for the virus, 297 from quarantine and 221 local contacts.
Of the new cases detected detected from 28 districts of the State on Monday, 337 were reported from quarantine centres while the rest 236 were local transmission cases, informed the State Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Department.
Khordha reported the highest daily spike of 96 cases followed by Sundargarh (80), Nuapada (60), Bargarh (43), Jharsuguda (39), Angul (32), Cuttack (28), Kalahandi (24) and Bolangir (20).
With the inclusion of Monday’s figure, the number of coronavirus cases in the State surged to 3,43,268 of which 3,37,935 patients have been cured or recovered and 1,922 succumbed. The active cases now stand at 3,358.
The State has so far tested a total of 91,88,038 samples including 28,109 on Sunday, a data released by the State Health and Family Welfare department stated.
Meanwhile, amid the rising cases of Covid-19 cases, night curfew has been imposed in 10 districts including seven in western Odisha and three from the southern parts of the State, which will come into effect from today.
The districts where the restrictions will be imposed from tonight include Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri. The curfew will be enforced from 10 pm to 5 am.
Meanwhile, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday sealed a private coaching class near Jaydev Vihar for allegedly flouting Covid-19 protocol even as the district has been witnessing a continuous rise in positive cases. Prior to this, another private tutorials in the State Capital had been sealed after many students tested positive for the virus.
A statement issued by the BMC said that the crackdown on educational institutions not adhering to the Covid appropriate behaviour will continue.
The urgency of the Covid situation in the country can be gauged from the fact that over 1.03 lakh people tested positive for the virus on Monday, an all time record for a single day surge ever since the pandemic broke out last year.