Odisha on Friday reported 1,547 new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally in the coastal state to 2,88,646, while 11 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,308, a health department official said.
The state during the day registered recovery of 1800 patients taking the number of persons cured of the pandemic to 2,73,838, which is 94.86 per cent of the states total caseload.
Odishas case fatality rate (CFR) now stands at 0.45 per cent, he said.
Of the new cases 891 were reported from various quarantine centres and 656 people were detected as affected during contact tracing, the official said.
Khurda district, of which Bhubaneswar is a part, recorded the maximum number of fresh cases at 159, followed by Cuttack at 98 and Angul at 95.
Taking to Twitter, the state health department said, "Regret to inform the demise of eleven COVID-19 positive patients while under treatment in hospitals."
Of the fresh fatalities, three were reported from Khurda, two from Cuttack and one each from Angul, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Kandhamal, Nuapada and Rayagada districts.
Ganjam district accounted for 229 of the 1,308 COVID- 19 deaths reported in the state so far, followed by Khurda (226) and Cuttack (110).
Odisha currently has 13,447 active cases, which is 4.65 per cent of the states total caseload.
The state has conducted over 45.08 lakh sample tests for COVID-19, including 44,506 on Thursday, he said adding the positivity rate currently stands at 6.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, the director of Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar director S Pati said the third phase of sero survey undertaken from 16th to 18th October in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Area, revealed that about 50 per cent of the state capitals population have developed antibodies against COVID-19.
"A total 1403 samples were randomly collected from 25 wards in the BMC area and it has been observed that around 50 per cent people of Bhubaneswar have developed antibodies against COVID-19, Pati said.
She said 30 percent of the people surveyed in Bhubaneswar have gone through RT-PCR and antigen tests. Odisha is one of the states in the country to undertake a state's specific sero survey and the result has given a ray of hope for the future.
The sero survey in Bhubaneswar was conducted on July 11 in the first phase and on August 28 in the second phase. It had then reported antibodies formation in only 1.5 per cent and 5.4 per cent of the people respectively. The survey results of the third phase is encouraging as 50 per cent of people have developed antibodies, Dr Pati said.
Subroto Bagchi, Odisha government chief spokesperson of for COVID-19, however, suggested people to adhere to guidelines in view of the coming winter.
Bagchi claimed that Odisha's fight against the pandemic has become a model for the world. Khurdha district has the highest spike of Covid in the state.
A total 3.5 lakh coronavirus tests have been undertaken in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Area. The city has three COVID care centres and seven dedicated COVID hospitals with 509 ICU beds in addition to 216 ventilators, Bagchi said.
