Fivefold rise in Covid cases in Nalanda

BIHARSHARIF: Nalanda and Sheikhpura districts have registered a spike in daily Covid count during the past few days. Nalanda civil surgeon (CS) Dr Sunil Kumar and four others tested positive for the virus on Saturday. The number of active cases in the district jumped to 52. Sheikhpura had 21 active cases. On March 17, the number of active cases in Nalanda was just 10.
Nalanda DM Yogendra Kumar Singh on Sunday said various steps, like sanitising the areas reporting Covid cases, identification of micro containment zones, awareness campaigns for the use of masks and social distancing, were being taken.
“Each person should use mask and avoid unnecessary social gatherings,” the DM appealed.
Nalanda CS, who is under home quarantine, has also appealed to all those who came into his contact in the last one week to get tested for the virus. A doctor couple and a health worker, who had received two dozes of vaccine, and three ANMs among others have tested positive.
After almost two months, the first positive case in Sheikhpura district was reported on March 28. He was a medicine shopowner and died on April 1 during treatment.
Sheikhpura administration on Saturday reopened one quarantine centre and admitted five patients for close monitoring as two home quarantined persons died during treatment last week.
Nalanda administration is yet to reopen any quarantine centre. However, a massive mask-checking drive was conducted in Biharsharif and Sheikhpura, yielding Rs5,700 as fine on Saturday. Biharsharif SDM Sanjay Kumar Singh said the drive will continue till everyone starts wearing a mask.
Meanwhile, since the launch of vaccination for people over 45 years on April 1, around 8,000 people in that category have been inoculated in Nalanda. Over 21,000 beneficiaries of all age groups have been inoculated till Saturday.
Nalanda MP Kaushlendra Kumar received the second shot of the Covid vaccine on Saturday while special vaccination camps were organised at Biharsharif court and block resource centre.