80 new COVID-19 cases reported in Odisha, total rises to 1,269

At least 80 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 1,269, a health department official said on Saturday (May 23).

Of the new patients, 71 were reported from quarantine centres in various parts of the state. Two were in home quarantine and seven others were found to have been infected with the virus as part of ongoing contact-tracing exercise, the official said. The new cases were reported from 13 districts.

Ganjam reported the maximum number of cases in the last 24 hours at 19, followed by Puri at 17 and Jajpur at 14. Five cases each have been reported from Sundergarh, Nayagarh and Malkangiri, four from Gajapati, three each from Balasore and Jharsuguda, two from Kandhamal and one each from Cuttack, Bolangir and Nabarangpur. With Gajapati and Nabarangpur reporting cases for the first time, the number of districts affected with the COVID-19 outbreak in Odisha has increased to 26. The state has 30 districts.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state has increased to 1,269 while 826 of them are active, the official said. A total of 436 people have recovered from the disease and seven have died. As many as 5,000 samples were tested on Friday, he added.