Odisha logs 9,541 new coronavirus cases, 33 fresh fatalities today

As many as 9,541 more people

tested positive for COVID-19, taking the tally to 7,56,684 on Sunday, while 33 fresh fatalities raised the toll to 2,719, a health department official said.

Of the 9,541 new cases, 5,343 were reported from quarantine centres, and the rest were detected during contact tracing, the official said.

Accordingly, the number of active cases rose to 95,266, he said.

The coastal state's positivity rate currently stands at 6.47 per cent.

Khurda district, of which state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the maximum number of new cases at 1,342, followed by Cuttack at 716, Mayurbhanj at 695, Sundergarh at 595, Angul at 562 and Puri at 528.

Only three of Odisha's thirty districts reported less than 100 fresh cases each -- Deogarh (61), Gajapati (69) and Nuapada (50).

Taking to Twitter, the health department said, "Regret to inform about the demise of thirty three Covid positive patients while under treatment in hospitals."

Angul district accounted for five deaths, followed by Boudh, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur and Sundergarh at three each. Two fatalities each were registered in Deogarh, Cuttack, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Keonjhar and Khurda, and one each at Ganjam, Koraput, Malkangiri and Rayagada.

This apart, 53 other COVID-19 patients in the state have died due to comorbidities.

As many as 11,513 people recuperated on Saturday, raising the number of those who have recovered from the highly infectious disease to 6,58,646.

Over 1.17 crore sample tests have been conducted thus far, including 66,057 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Asit Tripathy, the chairman of the Western Odisha Development Council, said a freighter carrying oxygen cylinders has arrived in Bhubaneswar from China.

"Honourable CM has directed no patient shall suffer for want of oxygen in Odisha," he tweeted.

Odisha supplies oxygen to around 15 states, but its administration lacks adequate number of cylinders to ferry the life-saving gas to its people.

Tripathy, however, said more than 14,000 cylinders have been added to its existing stock in the past two months, and the situation will only get better with today's import.