Jharkhand reported zero Covid casualties in a day for the first time on Saturday since the second wave of the pandemic hit the State earlier this year, data compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) highlighted. The active caseload of Covid-19 also dropped below the 4,000-mark as the state reported twice as many Covid recoveries as fresh cases of infection.

A bulletin released by the NHM stated that as many as 493 Covid patients recovered from the viral infection on Saturday, while 239 people were found infected by novel coronavirus. At least 3,966 Jharkhand residents were battling Covid-19 by the end of Saturday, the bulletin further stated.

East Singhbhum was the only district to report more than 50 fresh cases of infection on Saturday. As many as 51 people were found infected in East Singhbhum and 91 patients recovered there, bringing the active caseload down to 722 on the day.

As many as 78 recoveries against 27 cases brought the active caseload in Ranchi down to 1,236. Among other districts, Dhanbad reported 12 cases against 17 recoveries, while Bokaro reported only six cases and 17 recoveries. At least 23 people were found infected in Hazaribag and 46 patients recovered there.

The State on Saturday tested swab samples of 43,653 residents and the positivity rate on the day was less than 0.5 per cent. As per Government data, over 3.43 lakh people have been infected by coronavirus in the State so far and 97.36 per cent of them have recovered, while 1.48 per cent of them have died.

The growth rate of Covid cases also dropped to 0.09 per cent in the State against the national average of 0.22 per cent on the day, while the doubling rate in Jharkhand further rose to 796.09 days against the national doubling rate of 314.44 days.

So far, as many as 5,082 Jharkhand residents have died of Covid-19 and 1,579 of them were from Ranchi alone. With 1,029 casualties, East Singhbhum accounts for the second highest number of deaths among the 24 districts in the State.

The State on Saturday administered the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 to as many as 95,730 residents, including 2984 senior citizens and over 50,000 residents in the age bracket of 18 years to 44 years. As many as 13,113 residents received their second jab on the day.