A three-member team of experts from the Union ministry of health and family welfare is in Jharkhand to inspect the trend of Covid-19 trajectory in worst-affected districts and spot lapses that could be causing spike in cases, health officials said on Saturday.

The team, comprising two members from New Delhi and one from Bhubaneshwar, visited several health facilities in Dhanbad on Saturday, and also interacted with officials and local residents in the district, sources said. The team, during its 10-day stay in Jharkhand, will visit Ranchi and East Singhbhum after completing the inspection process in Dhanbad.

“The team will not only inspect containment zones, but also the non-containment zones in the three districts. They will look for patterns in the Covid trajectory and study how there were a higher number of cases reported in some areas,” said State National Health Mission (NHM) director Dr Ravishankar Shukla. “They will also guide us in management of Covid patients at health facilities,” he added.

Ranchi, East Singhbhum and Dhanbad are among the worst-affected districts in Jharkhand in terms of Covid-19 infection. As per figures with the health department, Ranchi alone has reported 9,796 of the 48,000-odd Covid cases in Jharkhand, the highest among all the districts. East Singhbhum, on the other hand, has reported 207 of the 455 Covid deaths in Jharkhand, and accounts for more than 45 per cent of fatalities in the state, as per government data. Dhanbad has reported 3217 cases of infection. One of the dirtiest cities of the country, Dhanbad is also one of the largest coal producing districts, which makes people living there susceptible to lung ailments.

The team in Jharkhand is one of 50 teams which the Centre has sent to districts where Covid-19 cases have witnessed unprecedented increase, sources said. Similar teams have also been sent to districts in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and other states reeling under the Covid-19 crisis, sources said.

The team consists of two public health experts and one joint secretary or additional secretary ranked official, who is given the responsibility of finding lacunae at an administrative level, health officials said. After visiting the three districts, the team will hand over a report to state health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni and also give suggestions on handling the situation in the districts.

The team has one doctor each from Lady Hardinge Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi and an official from Regional Medical Research Centre in Bhubaneshwar.

As per latest figures with the government, Jharkhand has reported 48,043 cases of coronavirus infection so far with 15,545 patients still battling the virus. More than half of the active cases were in Ranchi, East Singhbhum and Dhanbad. The Covid recovery rate in the state was 66.70 per cent, while the mortality rate was 0.93 per cent.