Odisha reports 394 new COVID-19 cases; vaccination for people above 45 years starts

Odisha's COVID-19 tally mounted to 3,41,311 on Thursday as 394 more people tested positive for the infection, the highest single-day rise so far this year, a health department official said.

The state government set a target to inoculate 2 lakh, people, daily, he said.

Of the new cases, 231 were reported from quarantine centers and 163 detected during contact tracing.

Khurda district comprising state capital Bhubaneswar reported the highest number of new cases at 70, followed by Kalahandi (43), Nuapada (40), Bargarh (34), Sundargarh (31), Cuttack (27), and Angul (24).

The death toll remained at 1,921 as no fresh fatality due to the infection has been reported since Tuesday.

Fifty-three other COVID-19 patients have also died due to comorbidities, he said.

Odisha now has 2,246 active cases, and 3,37,091 patients have recovered from the disease.

The state has conducted over 90.73 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 29,260 on Wednesday, and the positivity rate is at 3.76 percent.

The coastal state commenced the COVID-19 vaccination for all people aged 45 years and above from Thursday.

''Odisha has set a target to vaccinate 2 lakh people every day,'' the official said.

Altogether, 4,11,666 people have received vaccine shots so far, he added.