Odisha reports record 6,164 new COVID-19 cases, 7 fresh fatalities

In effect, restrictions continue from Friday evening till Monday morning at 5 AM, the SRC said in a statement. Keeping in view the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state capital, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has constituted more rapid response teams RRTs for the smooth management of the crisis.

Odisha's COVID-19 tally soared to 3,88,479 as the state reported its highest single-day spike of 6,164 new cases on Thursday, while seven fresh fatalities pushed the coronavirus death toll to 1,965, a health official said.

The state recorded a 30 percent rise in new cases in the last 24 hours. It had registered 4,851 infections on Wednesday.

As many as 3,575 new cases were registered in quarantine centers, while 2,589 fresh infections were detected during contact tracing, he said.

Khurda district, under which Bhubaneswar falls, reported the highest number of new cases at 1,132, followed by Nuapada (459) and Kalahandi (452).

Two COVID-19 patients each died in Ganjam and Rayagada districts, while one fresh fatality each was registered in Khurda, Kandhamal, and Kalahandi.

Fifty-three coronavirus patients have died due to comorbidities to date.

Odisha now has 35,075 active cases, while 2,009 more people were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 3,51,386.

The state has thus far tested over 97.49 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 44,983 on Wednesday. The state's positivity rate stands at 3.98 percent.

Meanwhile, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena has issued a clarification regarding the timings of weekend shutdowns in the urban areas of the state given the grave COVID-19 situation.

''In response to some media queries, it is hereby clarified that the Friday night curfew continues till 5 AM of Saturday and then weekend shutdown continues from Saturday till Monday morning in all urban areas of the state. No one should interpret in any other way. In effect, restrictions continue from Friday evening till Monday 5 AM,'' the SRC said in a statement.

Keeping in view the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state capital, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has constituted more rapid response teams (RRTs) for the smooth management of the crisis. There are 39 RRTs for 67 wards of BMC, a senior official said.