The death toll due to Covid-19 crossed the 1,000 mark in Jharkhand on Tuesday night though the number of active cases continued to fall.

According to data released by the state government at 9pm on Tuesday, 111,931 positive cases have been detected in Jharkhand so far, out of which there are at 1,578 active cases and 1,001 patients have died.

Ranchi district had the maximum number of active cases at 758, that accounted for 48 per cent of the total active cases in the state.

Barring East Singhbhum that had 198 active cases on Tuesday night, the rest 22 districts had less than a hundred active cases.

Of these 22 districts, four had single-digit active cases. While Pakur district had just 2 active cases, Giridih, Simdega and Jamtara districts had only 6, 9 and 10 cases respectively.

The recovery rate of the state is 97.69 per cent which is better than the national rate of 95.10 per cent.

The state’s mortality rate of 0.89 per cent is also less than the national rate of 1.50 per cent.

“Movement of people is much more in Ranchi that is now a gateway to the state and people here are also not much careful,” said Dr Prabhat Kumar, head of the Covid task force at Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), when asked about the high number of active cases in the state capital.

“Despite the government imposing a fine on those found moving around without mask in public places, you will hardly find anyone with a mask at marriage functions that are being held in large numbers these days,” Kumar said to strengthen his point, adding that precaution was a must at this stage.

RT-PCR test rate

The state government has reduced the rate of an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 to Rs 400 from the existing Rs 800, inclusive of the cost of PPE (personal protective equipment) kit and taxes.

The rate has been reduced after considering the rates prevalent in some of the neighbouring states, an order from the government said.

In case a laboratory collects the sample from a patient’s house, an additional collection charge of Rs 200 has, however, been allowed.

The government has also specified that a symptomatic patient has to undergo the RT-PCR test even if their rapid antigen test report comes negative.