Bhubaneswar: In today’s Covid-19 situation in Odisha, there is no reason to be worried, said Health & Family Welfare Secretary Shalini Pandit today.
“We are prepared for any kind of situation. We are alert to tackle any kind of situation. But in today’s Covid-19 situation there is no reason to be worried,” asserted Pandit briefing the media here today after a review meeting on the Covid-19 situation in the State chaired by Health & Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das today.
The review meeting was attended by department officials, and experts in different fields including RMRC Director, Professors from the Institute of Life Sciences, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, SCB MCH, VIMSAR, former DMET, epidemiologists, and community health specialists, Pandit added.
“Observations over the last three months show that cases of Covid-19 infection are gradually decreasing. If we see at present, around 100 to 200 cases are reported daily across the country, and in Odisha, the cases are limited to only 5 to 7 on a daily basis,” she informed.
She said that the situation has remained constant for the last three months as the case rate is low and the testing being carried out in Odisha, is always higher than the national average.
“We have RTPCR labs in every district. We are conducting 6,000 to 7,000 tests daily, our positivity rate is only 0.04 percent, she added.
The Health Secretary further said that keeping the situation in mind, the Odisha Government has completely lifted Covid-19 restrictions in the state.
There are no fines for not wearing masks or not following COVID Appropriate Behaviour, she added.
Pandit, however, advised the people to wear masks and adhere to Covid-appropriate behaviour while visiting crowded places as a precautionary measure and for their own safety.
She said that all kinds of drugs, kits, and oxygen supplies are adequate in stock.
She further clarified that the situation China is facing is different in comparison to India as 90 % of people in have received two doses of vaccines which is an advantage to keeping Covid at bay.
“The BF.7 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant is already in our country as well as in the state for a couple of months but the caseload has remained low and those found positive with BF.7 sub-variant are asymptomatic and with mild symptoms,” she added.
Right now the genome testing of positive samples is underway, and only sub-variants of the main Omicron variant detected in Odisha have been found with no disease severity, she further said.
