As many as 144 fresh cases of Covid-19 infection surfaced in Jharkhand on Saturday with cases reported from each of the 24 districts in the State, health officials said. The Covid death toll also reached 24 on Saturday after a woman from Giridih died during treatment at Medanta Hospital in Ranchi, officials added.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand’s recovery rate dropped to 61.58 per cent as only 32 Covid patients recovered from the viral infection on Saturday and were discharged from hospital, a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM) stated. The Covid-19 mortality rate in State increased to 0.65 per cent, the bulletin further highlighted.

Saturday’s findings take the total count of Covid-19 cases in Jharkhand to 3663. There are 1383 active cases in State while 2256 Covid patients have survived the infection, Government data stated.

None of the 24 districts in State were Covid-free after Saturday’s findings, officials said. However, there was only one active case of Covid-19 in Jamtara and nine in Simdega by the time this report was filed, the NHM bulletin said.

As per Government data, out of the 3663 Covid cases in State, at least 2212 are migrants. However, the number of non-migrants testing positive for the virus has been on the rise this month, health officials said.

Jharkhand witnessed a sudden spike in cases of Covid-19 infection in the past couple of days. State water resources minister Mithilesh Thakur and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Mathura Mahto tested positive for the virus on Tuesday and are undergoing treatment at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).

The first Covid-19 case of State was reported from Hindpiri on March 31. A Malaysian woman, who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi, became the first Covid patient here. Soon, a flurry of cases in Hindpiri haunted the Government, and the locality was sealed. However, the cases have now reduced considerably in the locality and it is not a containment zone anymore, officials said.

A second wave of Covid-19 cases hit Jharkhand with the return of migrant workers. At least five lakh migrants returned to the state since the imposition of lockdown, and more than 2000 of them tested positive for Covid-19, officials said.

In July, more locals than migrants tested positive for the virus, which many see as a worrisome trend. The Government has so far collected samples of 1.82 lakh suspects and tested 1.76 lakh of them. Around 2.7 lakh people are in home quarantine in the State and 30,000-odd have been sent to institutional quarantine.