Odisha: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday asked officials to remain prepared for the third Covid-19 wave likely to hit the state by August-end. “Though...(the) positivity rate has been under control in the state for the last few weeks, the situation is yet to improve in some districts. Health care is the top priority and if the third wave comes by the end of August, as predicted by scientists, the state will have to deal with the situation. Considering this, the officials should remain alert,” he said after a review of the Covid situation. Odisha on Friday reported 1,917 Covid infections, taking the number of active cases to 19,261. The number of deaths rose to 5,377 with 69 fresh fatalities.

Patnaik said even though the pandemic situation is under control, this is no time for complacency. “Only by remaining alert, we will be safe. Therefore, people should strictly adhere to Covid-19 guidelines and not crowd places.” He said the state government is emphasizing on investing in human resources along with strengthening the health care infrastructure. “The district administration has a responsibility to ensure that people are able to access health care without any hassle. It is the core responsibility of everyone, including police station inspectors, block development officers, sub-divisional police officers, sub collectors, superintendents of police and district collectors to ensure that there is no problem in health care delivery right from district headquarter hospitals to the community health centres in blocks,” he said.

Patnaik said Odisha has spent around ₹2,004 crore to support the poor, especially small farmers, construction workers, tribal families, Scheduled Castes, tribal students and street vendors during the second wave of the pandemic.