6 of 13 Covid deaths in E S’bhum; 967 cases take tally above 26k

Ranchi: Jharkhand reported 13 casualties 967 fresh cases in 24 hours until 10pm on Wednesday. Three staff members posted at the Doranda-based official residence of health minister Banna Gupta were among those who were diagnosed with the new virus. “After collecting samples based on contact tracing, the three staff from the minister’s residence were found infected. They are being shifted to isolation centres and hospitals,” said a district administration official.
Among the 13 casualties reported in 24 hours; East Singhbhum continued to report the highest figure with six deaths reported on Wednesday and three late on Tuesday night. Ranchi reported two -- one on Wednesday and one late on Tuesday. Palamu and Bokaro reported one casualty each on Tuesday.
East Singhbhum also continued to dominate the numbers in fresh infections with 208 fresh cases reported on Wednesday, followed by 150 in Ranchi and Deoghar with 129 cases. Palamu, which has seen a spurt in number of cases in the last fortnight, reported 82 cases, followed by 67 in Hazaribag.
With 2,233 fresh cases in 48 hours, the number of active cases saw a spike of around 1,000 cases. The steep increases poses a challenge for health department as Jharkhand has reported a hike in seven days growth and doubling rate in comparison to national average whereas the recovery rate has taken a hit.
Jharkhand’s seven-day growth rate stands at 3.75% against the national average of 2.51% and the seven-day doubling rate stands at 18.83 days in comparison to 28.13 nationally. The recovery rate has also taken a hit of 10% as state stand at 63% whereas it is 73% nationally.
The positivity percentage on Wednesday stood at 7.87% as 967 out of 12,282 samples tested positive for infection. The state’s Covid-19 tally stood at 26,300; of which 16,566 have recovered 9,456 are active and 278 have succumbed.