Ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Tundi Legislator Mathura Mahto on Tuesday tested positive for Covid-19 as the count of Covid cases in State witnessed a triple digit jump, health officials said.

The Covid death toll in Jharkhand also reached 22 on Tuesday as two infected patients breathed their last. A 58-year-old infected man, one of the two deceased, was undergoing treatment at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences , health officials said. He was a patient of diabetes and hypertension, doctors said. Details of the other victim were not disclosed by the time this report was filed.Interestingly, out of the 25 fresh cases reported from Dhanbad on Tuesday, 18 were journalists, an official from the district administration said. “Tundi legislator has tested positive for Covid-19 today. Out of 25 fresh cases in Dhanbad, 18 are journalists,” said Dhanbad deputy commissioner Amit Kumar.

The Covid trajectory in Jharkhand witnessed an upward trend on Tuesday as at least 141 fresh cases of infection surfaced from different districts, a bulletin from National Health Mission stated. This is the first instance of a triple digit increase in the count of Covid cases within 24 hours in the month of July and also the second highest single-day surge in State.

As per Govt data, the Covid toll in Jharkhand has jumped from 15 to 22 in the past four days with casualties reported from Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Khunti and Sahibganj. All the Covid victims in State either suffered from some or the other comorbid condition or age related ailments, officials said. The youngest victim of the virus in Jharkhand was a 24-year-old woman from Giridih. The woman, officials said, suffered from postpartum sepsis.

On Tuesday, the highest number of cases was reported from East Singhbhum – a district that tops in terms of Covid cases in Jharkhand. Two Covid deaths were also reported in East Singhbhum this week, triggering panic among local residents, sources said.

The count of Covid cases in Jharkhand reached 3018 on Tuesday, NHM stated in its bulletin. As many as 36 patients recovered from the infection on Tuesday, the bulletin further said. The Govt has so far collected samples of 1.66 lakh suspects and tested 1.61 lakh of them. The recovery rate dropped to 69.71% in Jharkhand on Tuesday while Covid mortality rate jumped to 0.72 per cent, Govt data highlighted.