Officials have begun a serological survey in the Paralakhemundi town of Gajapati district today to analyse the range and scale of COVID-19 infection among the residents. As per information, five teams have been assigned to survey the town. In this survey, a 15-member team from ICMR-Regional Medical Research Center (RMRC), Bhubaneswar has accompanied the officials of Paralakhemundi Municipality and Health department.
In phase one, 50 samples each will be obtained from 20 localities in the town. Anupam Saha, the District Collector, visited the swab collection centres to supervise the situation. Saha called upon people of all age groups to voluntarily participate in the survey. “The survey will reveal the rate of penetration and antibodies developed in the people. Based on the survey report, further measures will be taken to curb the virus transmission,” the collector stated.
The Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) has stated that samples of about 500 COVID warriors will also be collected for the survey. This sample size would give an accurate analysis of the serosurvey. Gajapati district has so far reported 3233 positive cases, including 198 active cases. While 3016 patients have recovered and 18 have succumbed to death.
The cumulative COVID-19 stats in Odisha stands at 162920 positive cases, with 36473 active ones. New positives cases detected in the last 24 hours stands at 4270, with 2478 of those in quarantine centres. So far, 656 people have died due to the virus in the state. The district of Khurdha, with 28,147 cases, remains the worst-hit region in the state. Notably, Khurdha has reported 876 new infections in the last 24 hours.