Odisha's Ganjam district on Sunday reported its first Covid-19 death after a man died of the disease, raising the fatalities in the state to three, a health department official said.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Odisha jumped to 377 with 83 more people testing positive for the disease in the biggest single-day spike, he said, adding all fresh cases, except one, were detected among those in different quarantine centres.
Ganjam District Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said the state government will soon release the details of the patient who died.
Despite a spurt in Covid-19 cases in the district, the situation is under control as fresh infections are being detected among those in quarantine centres, he said.
Kulange also warned people against loitering near the Covid-19 isolation centers, saying the violators would be sent to isolation centres set up in faraway places.
The Ganjam district administration has already banned the movement of people within a 100-metre radius of temporary medical camps.
The sarpanchs of Madhupalli and Mandara gram panchayats in Polasara block in the district have declared a complete shutdown in the areas.
Odisha assembly Speaker S N Patro discussed the situation in the district with the collector and other elected representatives through video conference. He is the MLA from Digapahandi seat in the district.
Around 40,000 people are lodged in 2,983 quarantine centres in Ganjam district.
Of the fresh cases reported from the state during the day, at least 61 are those who returned from Surat in Gujarat recently, the health department official said.
Last month, Odisha reported two Covid-19 deaths - both in state capital Bhubaneswar.
Of the 83 new cases, 36 were detected in Ganjam district, 15 in Balasore, six in Bhadrak, five in Jajpur, two in Puri and one in Mayurbhanj.
Angul and Boudh registered coronavirus cases for the first time, with 15 and three persons testing positive in the two districts respectively.
With this, 21 of the 30 districts in the state have reported Covid-19 cases.
The number of active cases in the state has climbed to 306. At least 68 people have recovered from the disease.
Ganjam tops the list of Covid-19 cases with 125 persons found positive, followed by 60 in Jajpur, 50 in Bhubaneswar in Khurda district, 42 in Balasore, 31 in Bhadrak, 15 in Angul, 13 in Sundergarh, eight each in Kendrapara and Mayurbhanj, five in Jagatsinghpur and 3 each in Puri and Boudh.
Two cases each have been detected in Bolangir, Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi and Keonjhar, while one each in Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Kouraput and Nayagarh.
The Covid-19 mortality rate in Odisha stands at 0.6 per cent, said Jayant Panda, the health department spokesperson.
On Saturday, 3,458 samples were examined in the state. A total of 59,780 samples have been tested so far.
The state government issued directions for segregating symptomatic cases from the rest in quarantine centres.
In a letter, Additional Chief Secretary P K Mohapatra directed district collectors, municipal commissioners and executive officers of urban local bodies to shift symptomatic cases identified after screening to the designated Covid care centres.
The officials have also been told to test vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, children under the age of five, physically and mentally challenged persons, people above 60 years and those with co-morbid conditions on priority.
Besides, they have been directed to strictly follow the government guidelines at these centres, including repeated hand washing, wearing face mask and social distancing.
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