Bhubaneswar (SunstarTV Bureau): Covid infection continues to rise in Odisha with 26 of the 30 districts reporting over 1,000 active positive cases, categorized as red zone, after the state registered 10,757 cases in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, only Deogarh, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts have now less than 1,000 active cases till Sunday report.
As per the information available on the State Dashboard, of the 27 red zone districts, Khordha has highest 15,529 active cases followed by Sundargarh (9,999) and Cuttack (8926). The three remaining districts: Gajapati, Kandhamal and Malkangiri are under Yellow Zone with 902, 894 and 813 active cases, respectively.
The major concern is that the infection rate is increasing in rural areas of the state. In the month of May, 57% of the total cases recorded in the state were reported from rural areas as against 51% in April.
Commenting on this, Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra said the rate of infection in rural areas is slightly more than that of urban areas. The Health Department has its focus on those areas. Collectors and Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs) are monitoring the situation regularly.
Health expert Dr Niroj Mishra said the main problem faced by villagers is lack of testing facilities. Mostly, Rapid Antigen Tests are being conducted in the rural areas and the positivity rate is 42% to 50%, which indicates that the rate of infection is increasing in villages. The people of villages should be educated through NGOs and Sarpanchs to tackle this situation, he added.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Basanta Panda today demanded setting up of temporary health centres and quarantine facilities at Gram Panchayat (GP) level for migrants returning to the state.
