Bihar's Covid-19 cases double in 15 days

PATNA: Bihar on Wednesday crossed the 20,000-mark of Covid-19 cases and the number has doubled in just 15 days.
While the first case was reported on March 22, it had taken 100 days to reach the 10,000-mark on July 1. The coronavirus cases in the state crossed 50 on April 9 and doubled to 100 on April 20. On May 15, the number crossed 1,000-mark and reached 10,000 on July 1.
Patna district has reported the maximum cases so far (2,501), followed by Bhagalpur (1,259), Begusarai (1,002), Muzaffarpur (900) and Siwan (856), as on Wednesday.
An official of state health department said urban areas were more affected because of commercial activities and congested localities. “Markets were opened and there was huge rush to buy things after the nationwide lockdown. Also, houses in cities are built in proximity and there are more chances of passing on the virus from one building to another,” he said.
Former IMA state president Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad cited various reasons for this sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in Bihar. “Movement is the main factor. A large number of migrants entered Bihar. Though they were quarantined, it cannot be denied that the virus spread to different places with some of them. Another factor is general movement in the Unlock period. People were moving as if there was no coronavirus. Carelessness on the part of people is also one of the factors,” he said.