Ganjam Achieves Milestone in Fight against COVID-19, Crosses 2 Lakh Tests

Berhampur: Odisha’s Ganjam district has achieved a significant milestone in its fight against COVID-19 pandemic by conducting over two lakh tests since the outbreak of the disease in the district.

The district has achieved the feat following the personal intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who redefined the COVID-19 management strategies for Ganjam, which has been witnessing drop in positive cases with each passing day.

Ganjam district, which had crossed the one lakh testing mark by August 15, has further scaled up its daily testing to complete another one lakh tests in less than 15 days.

Talking about it, Ganjam Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said that intensive door-to-door heath screening demanded more testing and the administration exactly did the same.

The health screening exercise helped us to trace more positive patients. We treated them which helped to stop further infection, he added.

What is of more importance is that the number of positive cases is on a declining trend. While the district was once the worst affected in terms of number of positive cases, it is no more a hotspot today.

Ganjam’s planned strategy to contain the spread of the deadly virus has been successful. The Odisha Government’s active involvement in supervising and extending all help including resources and manpower has worked wonders and as a result of which, the trend is reversing.

With its largest migrant returnee population, Ganjam district was the worst affected district in the State. More than 5 lakh people were kept in quarantine after their return from the hotspot states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra , Karnataka and Telangana. A multipronged strategy of testing, tracking and treatment has helped in successfully containing the disease.

The thrust of the administration has been on increasing the number of tests on daily basis.

The overall positivity rate in the district has also declined sharply in the last few days. While it was about 70 percent just a month ago, it has come down to just 8.30 percent. The current daily positive rate stands at 1.85 percent. It indicates that the situation in the district is limping back to normalcy.

Ganjam’s two lakh tests milestone is more than the national average tests done in many other states. Testing has been increased manifold in the last days. The Corona Curve is now on a flattening trajectory and the number of deaths is also declining.

The developments in the last few days indicate that the district administration has been successful in containing the spread of the disease and could show a way out for others also.