Jharkhand has managed to test barely 14 per cent of the 4 lakh migrant workers who have returned to the state and doctors managing Covid cases fear the number of cases, that has seen a six-fold spike since early May, might eventually increase dramatically.

More than 85 per cent of the returnees remain unchecked for the coronavirus infection. Hence, the recent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases could be the tip of the iceberg, say doctors who are been actively involved in dealing with the crisis in Jharkhand.

“It is true that most of the migrants who have returned to the state have not been tested yet,” said a senior doctor who is a member of Jharkhand's Covid-19 task force.

“It is correct to describe recent test results as the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The testing rate is slow here, but we are catching up fast as new testing kits have arrived in various districts,” the doctor who did not want to be identified said.

State health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni said regular tests were being conducted across Jharkhand but testing all migrants would require time.

“It is a gradual process. Tests are being conducted every day. It is difficult to give a number at the moment, but I think at least 14 per cent of the migrants who returned home have been tested so far,' Kulkarni said.

According to the National Health Mission (NHM), swab samples have been collected from more than 80,000 suspected patients. But so far, 70,000 of these have been tested. This means that around 10,000 samples are yet to be tested.

The total number of samples collected so far, including that of local residents and migrants, is around 20 per cent of the total number of migrant workers who have returned to the state.

Chief minister Hemant Soren took to Twitter recently to announce that more than 3.5 lakh migrant workers had returned to Jharkhand by Shramik trains. The total count of returnees is, however, much higher given that hundreds have come back to Jharkhand by flights, buses and taxis.

According to NHM, as many as 2,85,789 people, suspected to have contracted the virus, have been put in home quarantine in Jharkhand, while 91,722 have been kept in quarantine centres. Almost all of these people are either migrants or people who came in direct contact with them after they returned home, an official from NHM said.

According to NHM, by May 5, the state had reported only 115 cases of Covid-19 infection. Cut to June 2, the number of Covid-19 cases has increased almost six times and reached 675. As many as 461 migrants have tested positive in Jharkhand since May 1.