Odisha must take a cue from states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra Bihar and Gujarat that stayed ahead in Covid testing and managed to bring down the number of daily Covid cases.

Odisha, which had been testing 50,000 samples for the last few days, increased the number to 60,510 on May 18. CM Naveen Patnaik has sought 70,000 daily testing, but it’s not enough.

Odisha must eye 1 lakh Covid testing per day to ensure identification and better treatment for its citizens. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have been testing more than 2.5 lakh samples per day. And, they have benefitted too.