COVID-19 tests in Odisha doubled in 3 days; hotspot Ganjam’s situation improving

Bhubaneswar:  On the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the COVID-19 testing capacity in the state has been increased manifold in the last couple of days.

As per Government data, from around 14,000 on August 1, the number of per day tests increased to 40,711 on August 12. The tests will be further ramped up to control the virus in the state, said an official statement.

In just three days, the number of tests doubled from around 19,000 on August 9 to 40,000 till yesterday (August 12).

In another good sign in the fight against the virus, the COVID-19 positivity rate is gradually decreasing in the state. The positivity rate was 4.87% on August 12 as compared to 9.82 % on August 1.

“The situation in hotspot district Ganjam has improved a lot in the last 10 days. The number of tests in the southern district has increased from 2148 on August 1 to 7,631 on August 12. During the same period, the positivity rate has come down from 14.89 % on August 1 to 3.50% on August
12,” the statement reads.

Besides, the recovery rate in the district has increased from 68.8 % on August 1 to 82.20 % on August 12, it added.

It is pertinent  to mention here that India reported highest positive cases of 66,999 in a single day today.