Covid tally races past 57,000 in Bihar, toll mounts to 322

PATNA: The state’s Covid-19 tally has mounted to 57,270 on Sunday with 2,762 people testing positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. With the death of 10 more people on Sunday, Covid toll in the state has touched 322. Three deaths were reported from Kaimur, two from Rohtas and one each from Buxar, Gaya, Patna, Saran and Supaul.
Altogether 1,164 people have recovered from the virus in the state in the last 24 hours.Of the 57,270 Covid patients in the state, 36,637 have recovered. The number of active cases in the state stood at 20,310 and recovery rate at 63.97% on Sunday.
The state has managed to ramp up Covid testing by 50.04% in the last five days as per the data shared by the health department on Sunday. Altogether 35,619 samples were tested in the last 24 hours alone at various health facilities in the state. Positivity rate in the state also declined from 9.82% to 7.75 % on Sunday.
State health department principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit said the number of Covid tests went up in the state following round-the-clock supply of rapid antigen test kits. “Our focus is on flood-affected areas. Medical teams are visiting relief camps to conduct antigen test of people living there. Number of Covid tests in the state will increase in the days to come. The more we test, the less will be positivity rate in the state,” Amrit added.
The health department has asked all nine medical college and hospitals in the state to conduct antigen test of patients coming to the hospital for treatment of any ailment.
“Additional lab technicians have been engaged in each district to ramp up testing. RT-PCR tests will also be ramped up in the state. One machine will be installed at Bettiah Medical College and Hospital and another at Pawapuri Medical College and Hospital by August 7. One more machine will be installed at Madhepura Medical College and Hospital. All these machines will become operational by August 15,” Amrit said.
Meanwhile, AIIMS-Patna on Sunday recorded five fresh deaths. Among the deceased, two were from Patna – a 69-year-old man from Patrakar Nagar and a 63-year-old man from Kadamkuan. The other three victims were from Samastipur, Begusarai and Aurangabad districts. Nodal officer for Covid-19 at AIIMS-P Dr Sanjeev Kumar has confirmed the death of five people at the hospital.
Dr Mukul Kumar Singh, epidemiologist-cum-nodal officer of Covid at NMCH-Patna, confirmed three deaths on Sunday. Among the victims, two were from Patna – a 70- year-old woman from Alamganj and a 65-year-old man from Vijay Nagar. The third deceased – a 37-year-old woman – was a resident of Nalanda.
Altogether 460 people were tested positive for Covid in Patna district on Sunday. The number of active Covid cases in district stood at 3,863 on Sunday. Altogether 5,916 people have so far recovered from the disease in the district.
COVID FACTSHEET
Today’s cases: 2,762
Total cases: 57,270
Total recovery: 36,637
Active cases: 20,311
Total deaths: 322, including two suicides