Over 42% of cases in 9th week of lockdown
› The current and the upcoming weeks are crucial as samples of migrants are being received in hoards. A fair assessment can be made that a high number of positive cases will surface during this period.
RANCHI:Jharkhand received the biggest jolt in its ongoing fight against Covid-19 pandemic in the ninth week of the lockdown beginning March 25, as over 42% of the total positive cases were detected in this period.
The state witnessed the highest ever growth in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last seven days during which as many as 178 new cases were found at an average increase of 25 cases per day.
The state has so far reported 426 positive Covid-19 cases, including 175 recoveries and four deaths.
The spread of the pandemic has almost gripped the entire state, except one out of the total 24 districts. Sahebgunj is the only district in the green zone with no positive case reported so far.
“The steep surge in the number of cases has been noticed after arrival of migrant workers in the state. As of now, 252 migrants were tested positive after May 5. According to our study, 16% of migrants coming from Maharashtra have been tested positive. Similarly, 18% and 6% cases were found among those migrants who arrived from Gujarat and Delhi, respectively,” said Dr DK Singh, director of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi.
He added, “In the first six weeks of the nationwide lockdown, we found cases that were primarily linked with Tablighi Jamaat. After that, in the seventh, eighth and ninth week, we noticed a sudden spurt in cases due to the influx of migrants.”
Dr Singh, however, was of the view that the number of cases in the next two weeks will further go up.
He said, “The current and the upcoming weeks are crucial as samples of migrants are being received in hoards. A fair assessment can be made that a high number of positive cases will surface during this period.”
According to an estimate of the state disaster management department, about 3.5 lakh workers out of the 4.5 lakh stranded in different states have returned to Jharkhand.
Majority of the workers have come from Maharashtra, Gujarat and southern states.
According to the health department’s bulletin issued on May 26, over 3.41 lakh people, majorly migrants, are currently undergoing institutional and home quarantine. Out of them, 94,114 are at government quarantine centres.
DR DK SINGH, RIMS director
The increase in positive cases has not only taken the pandemic’s growth rate in the state higher than the national average but also reduced the doubling period and recovery rate, which is less than the national average now.
As on May 26, the seventh day’s growth rate of the disease in Jharkhand stood at 7.78% against the national average of 5.32%.
The doubling period too came down to 9.3 days against the national average of 13.37 days. Jharkhand’s recovery rate, which was 41.07%, is also lagging behind the national average of 41.61%.