Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday said self-satisfaction is the biggest enemy during the fight against the pandemic. People as well as government servants should remain cautious enough to keep the deadly virus at bay, he added.
Reviewing the Covid-19 situation in the state, Naveen directed officials to emphasise on disbursement of financial assistance (loans) to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME), agriculture, fisheries & animal husbandry and self-help group (SHG) units to help reboot the rural economy.
He directed the officials to provide loans to people who have returned from other states for opening small business units. The Chief Minister advised the officials to procure masks from women SHGs by utilising the MLA Local Area Development fund so that they can earn their livelihood.
Naveen expressed satisfaction over increased COVID-19 testing in the state. He instructed the COVID observers of hotspot districts to ensure strict implementation of the localized/specific strategies and work towards a visible improvement in the situation in coming weeks.
He emphasised on availability of adequate number of ICU beds in various COVID hospitals and directed the officials concerned to leave no stone unturned in keeping government offices infection-free by strictly adhering to COVID regulations.
The CM expressed satisfaction with the declining infection rate among Covid warriors and suggested to create awareness about the use of masks and social distance among people. He further directed to pay financial assistance dues to the relatives of martyred Covid warriors by next Friday.
Additional Chief Secretary—Health & Family Welfare department, PK Mohapatra said the recovery rate in the state has increased to 71.3 per cent while the death rate has dropped to 0.5 per cent and 54 per cent of Covid infected persons are under home isolation.
Cuttack, Balasore and Kendrapara districts have performed well in plasma collection, while the performance of Malkangiri, Boudh and Rayagada districts is better in home isolation. Another plasma bank will be opened in Koraput Thursday. Patnaik also took stock of the flood like situation in the state.