BackOdisha: 120 prisoners test positive for Covid, 449 convicts released on parole
The sharp rise in daily Covid-19 cases and deaths in Odisha continued on Thursday even as the number of active cases crossed the one-lakh mark for the first time
PremiumAt least two inmates succumbed to Covid-19 and 120 have tested positive in jail in Odisha, an official said on Thursday.
"Two individuals lost their lives and at least 120 prisoners tested positive for Covid-19. Critical patients have been shifted to Covid hospitals and 449 convicts released on 90-day parole," said DIG (prisons) Subhakanta Mishra.
He further informed that to curb the spread of the virus, "Patnagarh Sub-Jail and a cell of Berhampur Jail has been converted into Covid-19 care centre. We are looking into the matter."
Cases in Odisha
The sharp rise in daily Covid-19 cases and deaths in Odisha continued on Thursday even as the number of active cases crossed the one-lakh mark for the first time in the coastal state since the beginning of the pandemic last year, a health department official said.
The Covid-19 caseload in the state mounted to 5,76, 297 as 10,649 more people tested positive for the disease and 19 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 2,251, he said.
Odisha now has 1,00,313 active cases, the official said, adding that 4,73,680 patients have so far recovered from the infection.
Khurda district, which comprises the state capital Bhubaneswar, accounted for 14,886 actives cases, followed by Sundargarh (11,466) and Cuttack (8,274).
Of the fresh cases, 5,965 were reported from quarantine centres and 4,684 detected during contact tracing.
According to the official, Khurda also recorded the highest number of new cases at 1,557, followed by Cuttack (930), Sundargarh (774), Angul (557) and Balasore (503).
The Odisha government decided to float a global tender for procuring Covid-19 vaccines to meet the demand.
"It is felt that complete vaccination is the best way to protect precious lives of the people. Therefore, the Cabinet allowed the state government to go for global tender and get vaccines at the earliest," Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra said.
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