Ranchi: Jharkhand on Thursday reported three Covid-19 deaths, taking the state’s toll to 883, and a spike in the number of fresh infections after the Durga Puja celebrations.
The number of new cases on Thursday (395) is almost double since Monday when only 200 cases were reported at the start of the puja. The state has now a cumulative caseload of 1,00,964, of which 5,294 are active and 94,787 have recovered.
Health experts had already warned about the spike as people have violated the safety norms, including wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing during the festive season.
They, however, said the increase is less than expected and termed it as marginal.
Dr Devesh Kumar, professor of community medicine at Rims, said, “Had the new cases crossed the 1,000-mark, it would have been a cause for worry. A few hundred cases do not mean the arrival of a second wave. But if the trend continues, it will be a problem for us and more stringent action will be required for Diwali and Chhath Puja.”
Meanwhile, of the three deaths reported on Thursday, one each was reported from Ranchi, Palamu and Ramgarh. The number of recovered cases during the day was 461 and it surpassed the fresh infections. Of the fresh cases, Ranchi continued to report the highest at 78, followed by East Singhbhum at 61. Dhanbad and Bokaro reported 50 and 39 new cases respectively.