Bhubaneswar: Admitting a surge in Covid-19 infection in rural Odisha, state Public Health director Niranjan Mishra Monday said the infection in rural areas is around 55-60 per cent of the entire state. However, it is not alarming, he added.
Speaking to reporters here, Mishra said, “Even though the number of infections is increasing in rural pockets, the situation is not so alarming. The rural areas share 50 to 60 per cent of the daily infections.”
Stating there is need to increase the surveillance in the rural areas, he said, “The Anganwadi, ASHA and ANM workers are the key forces in the collective fight against Covid-19. They have been imparted special training and directed to keep close watch on the situation in their respective areas.”
Moreover, the district Collectors and Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs) are also conducting regular assessments in their respective districts, he said.
On the overall caseload in the state, Mishra said, “The situation is stable now. The daily count is hovering around 10,000/12,000. If people follow Covid-19 guidelines and help break the transmission chain, the cases will come down.”
Supporting imposition of the lockdown, the director said, “Had the state government not clamped the lockdown, the daily caseload would have been over 20,000. We hope that the number of positive cases in the state will come down further due to the lockdown impact which would be felt within 2-8 weeks.”
Similarly, another senior doctor Niroj Mishra has advocated for extension of lockdown to reducing the number of daily infections in the state.
PNN
