4 MLAs among 3k+ new Covid cases

Ranchi: Hours after the Union health ministry said that it will rush central teams to Jharkhand and three other states to help the strengthen containment, surveillance, testing and efficient clinical management to combat coronavirus pandemic, Jharkhand reported 3,218 fresh Covid-19 cases, by far the highest single-day spike surpassing the 1,356 new infections recorded on August 27. Four MLAs were among those who tested positive.
The lawmakers found infected on Monday are former cabinet minister Nilkanth Singh Munda (Khunti), Shashi Bhushan Singh Mehta (Panki). Congress MLA from Barkagaon Amba Prasad and lone CPI-ML MLA from Bagodar Vinod Singh also tested positive for the virus.
Jharkhand also seven Covid casualties with East Singhbhum accounting for six and Dhanbad for one. The cumulative caseload in Jharkhand crossed the 40,000-mark and stood at 41,656, of which 27,143 have recovered and 417 have died.
With just 695 recoveries on Monday, the number of active cases jumped from 11,577 to 14,096 is 24 hours and there was an acute spike in the seven-day growth rate – the figure now stands at 4.25%, twice the national average of 2.21%. The seven-days doubling rate also fell to 16 days compared to 31 days nationally.
Monday accounted for more than 16% of the total number of tests (9.13 lakh) conducted in the state till date and Health department officials said the high numbers are the result of a mass rapid antigen testing (RAT) drive conducted on Monday across the state except Ranchi, which will be conducting it on Tuesday.
East Singhbhum district reported an all-time high of fresh infections with 630 cases followed by Ranchi with 292 cases. A total of 10 districts reported fresh infections in three digit with Koderma (245), Hazaribag (170), Ramgarh (162), Dhanbad (153), Gumla (147), Palamu (127), Sahebganj (121) and Chatra with 103 cases. Lohardaga (98) and Latehar (96) fell short of the figure on Monday.
Meanwhile, the central team will get a first-hand understanding of the challenges and issues being faced by the state in their containment strategy. "The teams will support the state efforts towards strengthening containment, surveillance, testing and efficient clinical management of the positive cases. They shall also guide the state government in effectively managing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow up," it said. Each of the multi-sectoral teams will comprise an epidemiologist and a public health expert.