The active caseload of Covid-19 dropped below the 5,000-mark in Jharkhand on Wednesday as the state reported twice as many recoveries as fresh cases of infection on the day. Three more deaths took the Covid toll to 5,076, figures compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) highlighted.

As per a bulletin released by the NHM, 302 people were found infected by coronavirus on Wednesday, while 615 recovered from the infection, bringing the active caseload down to 4,783. The state tested swab samples of over 40,000 residents on the day and the positivity rate was less than 1 per cent.

None of the 24 districts in Jharkhand reported a triple-digit-spike in cases on the day. East Singhbhum, as per government data, reported the highest spike of 48 cases, but 61 recoveries brought the active caseload there down to 796. One Covid patient died during treatment in East Singhbhum on Wednesday, taking a Covid toll there to 1028. The remaining two deaths were reported from Bokaro and Pakur on the day.

Ranchi, the district which has reported the highest number of Covid deaths in the district so far, did not report fresh casualties on Wednesday. As per NHM data, only 34 residents of the state capital were found infected on the day and 92 Covid patients recovered, bringing the active caseload here down to 1,367. So far, Covid-19 has claimed 1,572 lives in Ranchi.

Bokaro reported 11 cases against 38 recoveries, while Dhanbad reported 16 cases against 34 recoveries. At least 21 people were found infected in Koderma and 38 patients recovered there. Hazaribag reported 31 cases against 47 recoveries on the day.

The growth rate of infection dropped to 0.11 per cent in Jharkhand against the national average of 0.26 per cent, while the doubling rate in the state rose to 648.97 days against the national doubling rate of 271.77 days, the NHM stated in its bulletin.

The state on Wednesday administered the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 to 48,619 residents and as many as 26,844 of them were in the age bracket of 18 years to 44 years. The second dose was administered to 5,956 beneficiaries on the day, mostly people above the age of 45 years.

So far, over 3.42 lakh people have been infected by coronavirus in the state and more than 97 per cent of them have recovered. The Covid mortality rate in the state was, however, 1.48 per cent against the national average of 1.20 per cent.