Covid tally touches 43,000 in Bihar as testing figures rise

PATNA: On a day the state conducted 16,275 Covid-19 tests in 24 hours, the highest so far, altogether 2,480 fresh cases were registered, taking the tally to 43,591. According to the health department, 14 deaths were also reported on Tuesday, including two from Patna, taking the toll to 269. With 29,220 recoveries so far, active cases stand at 14,100.
Amid the continuing spike in coronavirus cases, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday ordered further increase in the number of Covid-19 tests through RT-PCR method and to make testing arrangements in all districts of Bihar.
As per CM’s instructions, control rooms set up in all hospitals will now make a mandatory call to each patient daily and inquire about their health condition, availability of medicine and doctor’s visit and speedy disposal of any complaints. “Those staying in home isolation will also be monitored,” a communication from the CMO stated.
Meanwhile, cases continued to rise in state capital Patna with the health department’s data stating that the maximum number of Covid-19 cases in the state were registered in Patna on Tuesday with 411 people testing positive for the virus. The tally for Patna has now reached 7,481. However, with 4,403 recoveries and 41 deaths, there are 3,037 active cases in the district.
IPRD secretary Anupam Kumar informed that ‘May I Help you’ booths are being set up in all hospitals to ease the admission process. He said administrative officials are being deployed to assist Covid-affected people in getting admission in government hospitals and to manage beds in private hospitals as well.
According to the health department data, three deaths each were reported from Gaya and Nalanda, taking the toll to 17 and 15 respectively. Begusarai and Patna reported two deaths each, followed by Aurangabad, Lakhisarai, Munger and Nawada which reported one death each.
However, NMCH reported four deaths on Tuesday, three of them being residents of Patna. “One was a 75-year-old Nehru Nagar resident. He died on Monday night of cardiac arrest, another was a 65-year-old male of Karzan Suryapura. He too died of cardiac arrest,” said hospital’s epidemiologist-cum-nodal officer (reporting cell) Dr Mukul Kumar Singh. Two other deceased were from Rohtas and Jehanabad each and both had a medical history of diabetes.
AIIMS-Patna reported two deaths and both the deceased were Patna natives. Hospital’s Covid-19 in charge Dr Sanjeev Kumar informed that one was an 80-year-old man from Haroon Colony and another was a 44-year-old man from Badhai Tola in East Ramkrishna Nagar.
According to the health department, other districts which reported a large number of cases are Muzaffarpur (199), Gaya (145), Nalanda (128), Saran (120), Buxar (94), Vaishali (87) and Bhojpur (86).
The health department further stated that 1,376 people have recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the total recoveries to 29,220 and recovery rate to 67.30%.