Bhubaneswar: Odisha on Friday reported 7,729 new COVID-19 cases and 39 more deaths, a Health Department official said.
The state has so far recorded 7,98,699 cases and 2,912 deaths, he said.
In the last 24 hours, 10,343 people recovered, taking the total recoveries to 7,13,055.
There are 82,679 active cases in the state at present, the official said.
Of the new infections, 4,331 were detected at the quarantine centres and the rest 3,398 were local contact cases.
Khurda district, where state capital Bhubaneswar is located, reported the highest 1,062 new infections, followed by Cuttack (720) and Angul (449).
Khurda district also reported the highest number of fatalities at six. Angul, Kalahandi, Jharsuguda, Rayagada and Sundargarh reported three deaths each, while two persons each died in Boudh, Deogarh, Cuttack, Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri.
On Thursday, the state tested 68,604 samples for COVID-19. Odisha’s positivity rate now stands at 11.26 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Health Department in a notification said that 5 per cent of the general and ICU beds will be reserved for the healthcare workers at the hospitals designated for doctors and their family members for treatment of COVID-19.
The department also asked hospitals to screen all the patients with suspected COVID symptoms through Rapid Antigen Tests while availing IPD and OPD services.
The decision was taken to ensure appropriate precaution at the right time so that the healthcare system remains free from the coronavirus infection, a notification said.
Besides, it will help in maintaining preparedness for the possible third wave of the pandemic, it said.
