Jharkhand reported at least twice as many Covid recoveries as fresh cases of infection on Saturday, bringing the active caseload close to 40,000, figures compiled by the health department highlighted. However, as per a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM), the state also reported as many as 65 Covid casualties on the day, which took the Covid toll to 4,431.

At least 6,762 Covid patients recovered from the infection on Saturday while 3,157 residents were found infected. The active caseload dropped to 10,149 in Ranchi, the worst-affected district in Jharkhand, as at least 2,206 patients recovered here against 465 fresh cases. However, the Covid toll in Ranchi jumped to 1,393 on the day as the district reported at least 19 of the 65 Covid casualties.

The Covid toll in East Singhbhum reached 894 on Saturday as at least 12 patients died there during treatment in the past 24 hours, the NHM stated in its bulletin. The district reported 743 Covid recoveries against 297 fresh cases of infection on the day. The active caseload there dropped to 4,010, the NHM bulletin highlighted.

The state on Saturday tested swab samples of 52,939 residents and around 7 per cent of them were found infected. Over 3.13 lakh people have been infected by the deadly virus in Jharkhand so far and more than 85 per cent of them have recovered.

Meanwhile, over 41,000 Jharkhand residents in the age bracket of 18 years to 44 years were administered the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 on Saturday, taking the total count of those inoculated in the aforementioned age bracket to 74,950, government data revealed.

As per data with the NHM, at least 904 beneficiaries got the jab in Ranchi, while over 4,000 beneficiaries in the age bracket of 18 to 44 years were administered the first dose of the vaccine in Bokaro as well as Dhanbad. East Singhbhum administered the first jab to 3,239 beneficiaries in the said age bracket, while 2265 people got the jab in Palamu.

Jharkhand also registered a drop in the growth rate of Covid cases on the day. As per government data, the growth rate in Jharkhand was 1.29 per cent against the national average of 1.04 per cent. The doubling rate in the state was 54.14 days against the national average of 66.70 days, NHM figures highlighted. The Covid mortality rate in the state was 1.41 per cent, which is higher than the national average of 1.10 per cent.