Bihar was rattled by its biggest ever spike in COVID-19 cases in a single day when 68 people tested positive on Monday and the states total jumped to 345, a top official said here.
Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar also pointed out that the day marked Madhubani (five), Darbhanga and Purnea (one each) registering their first COVID-19 cases, bringing the number of districts affected by the outbreak to 25, out of a total of 38.
The number of cases reported during the day surpassed the previous highest of 53 last Friday.
The state has witnessed a steep rise in the number of cases in the recent past. The first two cases were reported on March 22 and the total number crossed the three-digit mark on April 19, about four weeks later.
However, the tally has shot up three-fold in just eight days since then and the number of those infected has risen by more than 200.
Jamalpur town in Munger district saw yet another explosion of infections with 22 people testing positive. The district has so far reported 90 confirmed cases, of which 78 are still active, most of these in the mofussil town with a population of less than two lakhs.
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Rohtas district reported 16 fresh cases during the day, raising the count of COVID-19 patients there to 31. The patients include two girls, both residents of Sasaram, the district headquarters, and aged a year and a half.
The remaining 14 patients, all males, include a two-year-old boy and three men in the age group of 60-70 years.
Besides, five fresh cases were reported in the state capital, from localities like Raja Bazar, New Pataliputra Colony and Phulwarisharif.
The lone woman patient, aged 28 years, resides in a colony adjacent to the Bihar Public Service Commission office on Bailey Road. All these localities have been sealed and those coming in contact with the positive cases quarantined.
In addition, a two-year-old boy from Naubatpur in rural Patna tested positive.
Patna district now accounts for 39 cases, making it the second worst affected in the state, followed by Nalanda (34), Siwan (30) and Buxar (25).
According to Madhubani District Magistrate Nilesh Ramchandra Deore, all the five patients, including two women - a 27-year-old constable posted at the police lines and a 65 -year-old woman from Jhanjharpur sub-division - had travel histories.
While the constable had come from Nalanda, one of the severely affected districts in the state, the remaining had come from Mumbai and Delhi and they were all kept in quarantine until their test reports came out, Deore said.
The district has witnessed a massive influx of people from outside the state. We have sent 500 samples for testing so far, he added.
Darbhanga District Magistrate S M Thyagarajan said the 36-year-old patient was a migrant worker from Delhi who had returned to his home town on April 22 along with his wife and children on April 22.
Police Superintendent Babu Ram said his family members too have been quarantined at the hospital and further contact tracing was on.
In Purnea, District Magistrate Rahul Kumar said the 27-year-old patient had recently returned from Delhi where he sold fruits for a living. His family members and close contacts have been quarantined and further contact tracing was on.
Notably, at the video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had flagged the issue of a high prevalence of the contagion among those returning to Bihar from other parts of the country, circumventing the nationwide lockdown.
He had also requested that medical examination be ensured by local authorities before granting permission to people from Bihar to their journey back home.
Bhojpur district also reported seven fresh cases, raising the total to 16. Aurangabad registered four cases and the districts total now stands at 11.
One case each came from Saran, Nawada and Lakhisarai districts.
Among those who have tested positive in the state so far, two have died. Vaishali and Munger districts account for one casualty each.
The number of those who have been discharged from hospitals after full recovery is 57. The number of samples tested so far is 18,179. Testing of samples is taking place at six facilities, four at Patna and one each at Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.
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