The Covid-19 toll in Jharkhand jumped above 950 on Sunday as the state reported at least five more casualties in the past 24 hours, taking the count of Covid-19 fatalities occurring in the past 48 hours to almost a dozen in the state, figures compiled by the health department highlighted.

At least two Covid patients died during treatment in Ranchi, while Bokaro, Dhanbad and Hazaribag reported one casualty each on the day, stated a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM) on Sunday evening. As many as six Covid-19 patients died in Jharkhand on Saturday. So far, East Singhbhum has reported 350 of the 951 Covid fatalities, the highest in the state. Ranchi, on the other hand, has lost 191 people to Covid-19 virus.

As per government data, at least eight districts in the state did not report even a single case of Covid-19 infection on Sunday, while 13 districts reported a single-digit-spike in Covid cases. Ranchi, which reported 77 fresh cases, was the highest contributor to the Covid caseload in Jharkhand on Sunday.

The government on Sunday tested the swab samples of only 10,492 people and 137 of them were found Covid-positive, stated the NHM bulletin. However, as many as 272 patients overcame the infection on Sunday, taking the Covid recovery rate in Jharkhand up at 96.98 per cent.

Ranchi also reported 129 recoveries, the highest among all the 24 districts in Jharkhand. East Singhbhum reported only five fresh cases against 36 recoveries, while Dhanbad reported zero fresh cases and zero recoveries on the day. At least seven cases surfaced in Bokaro and 10 patients recovered there.

The number of active cases of Covid-19 infection has dropped significantly in the past week. On Saturday, there were 2,289 active cases of infection in Jharkhand and at least 850 of them were in Ranchi. Government figures indicate that Ranchi and East Singhbhum account for more than 50 per cent of active cases in Jharkhand. At least 305 people were battling the virus in Ranchi on Sunday.

The intensity of sample collection for Covid-19 test has also reduced in Jharkhand lately. On Sunday, health workers collected swab samples of only 8.014 people, which is lower than the average number of tests conducted daily in the past month.

The government has so far collected swab samples of 39.24 lakh people and tested around 39.08 lakh of them. As many as 1,07,469 people have been found infected by the virus so far and 1,04,229 of them have recovered, highlights government data.