Bhubaneswar: Even as the advanced countries like France, Italy and Spain having similar population as that of Odisha struggled to rein the Coronavirus, Odisha, the eastern state of India, has done exceptionally well in various parameters, earning a name in Covid-19 management globally.
Odisha’s excellent COVID-19 management has been well acknowledged from the fact that the State has reported less number of coronavirus cases and deaths when compared to the COVID-19 hit countries having more than 3.2 crore population.
With population of over 4.4 crore, Odisha has recorded 6,180 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths – the figures are lowest compared to countries like Spain, UK, Italy, Peru and Columbia.
While the total number of COVID-19 cases in Spain having population of 4.7 core is 2.95 lakh and 28,338 deaths, the UK, which has population of more than 6.6 core, has registered 3.09 lakh cases of Coronavirus and death toll due to the virus is 43,414.
Similarly, Italy’s COVID-19 cases stand at 2.40 lakh and causalities at 34,708. The country has nearly 6 crore population.
Of the 3.2 crore population in Peru, over 2.72 lakh people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 8,939 persons succumbed to it.
Columbia, which has population of over 4.9 crore, has recorded 84,442 cases of COVID-19 and 2,811 deaths.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Odisha is combating the COVID-19 pandemic effectively by following a slew of measures, such as mandatory registration of domestic and foreign returnees, strict enforcement of lockdown guidelines, setting up of hundreds of quarantine and isolation centres, and substantially increasing number of tests.
Likewise, Odisha’s COVID-19 recovery rate is highest in India when compared to the other coronavirus-affected States having population of over 4.5 crore.
According to the data compiled by the Union Health and Family Affairs Ministry, Odisha’s COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 69.64 per cent compared to 64.86 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 62.86 per cent in Karnataka, 55.42 per cent in Tamil Nadu, 52.25 per cent in Maharashtra and 45.23 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.
Similarly, Odisha’s COVID-19 mortality rate is the lowest in compared to these States.
While death rate due to Coronavirus stands at 0.39 per cent in Odisha, it is 4.65 per cent in Maharashtra, 3.01 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 1.64 per cent in Karnataka, 1.28 per cent in Tamil Nadu, and 1.27 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.
Odisha’s success by and large due to the superlative leadership exhibited by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his team.
Had Odisha been like Europe and not led by able leadership, we would have lost so many lives.