 "Odisha reports 3,996 new Covid-19 cases, another Minister tests positive")
As many as 3,996 more persons, including a Minister, tested coronavirus positive in the last 24 hours in Odisha, taking the state's total cases to 1,43,117, an official said on Friday.
This is the highest single-day spike in the state so far. Odisha now has 34,458 active cases, including 1,08,001 persons who have recovered so far.
Women and Child Development Minister Tukuni Sahu was among those who tested positive, fifth such cases in the state.
Odisha's Covid-19 death toll increased to 605 as record 14 more fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, the department said.
Khordha district registered the highest five deaths, Puri district three, Mayurbhanj two, and Cuttack, Kalahandi, Koraput, and Sambalpur districts one each.
Sahu tweeted that she was in home isolation and her condition was stable. She advised those who had come in contact with her in the last few days to get themselves tested.
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Earlier, Tourism Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Labour Minister Susanta Singh, Higher Education minister Arun Kumar Sahu, and Textiles and Handlooms Minister Padmini Dian had also been infected.
--IANS
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