Covid recoveries outnumbered fresh cases of infection after almost a month in Jharkhand on Wednesday, causing a dip in the active caseload for the first time since the first week of April, government data revealed. However, the state continued to report a triple-digit-spike in Covid casualties on the day.

As many as 141 Covid patients, including 41 from Ranchi and 27 from East Singhbhum, died on the day, taking the Covid toll in the state to 3,346, a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM) stated. The state on Wednesday reported 5770 fresh cases against 5804 Covid recoveries, which brought the active caseload down to 59,532, the bulletin highlighted.

Although Ranchi reported the bulk of casualties on the day, the number of patients dropped here as at least 1169 patients recovered from the infection on Wednesday while 958 people were found infected in the district. After Wednesday’s findings, the Covid toll in Ranchi stood at 1051, while the active caseload dropped to 19,654.

East Singhbhum, however, reported a minor rise in the active caseload. As per NHM data, the district reported 897 cases against 863 recoveries, and the active caseload there reached 5,767. The Covid toll in the district jumped to 726 on the day.

Among other districts, Bokaro reported 427 cases against 269 recoveries, while Hazaribag reported 693 cases against 331 recoveries. As many as 158 residents were found infected in Dhanbad while 208 Covid patients recovered there on Wednesday. Dhanbad also reported 10 Covid casualties on the day, the NHM stated in its bulletin.

The state tested swab samples of 35,486 residents on Wednesday and more than 13 per cent of them were found infected by the mysterious virus. So far, over 2.63 lakh Jharkhand residents have been infected by Coronavirus and around 76.10 per cent of them have recovered, reveals government data.

The growth rate of Covid cases also dropped in Jharkhand on Wednesday. Jharkhand’s growth rate of 2.10 per cent was, however, higher than the national average of 1.39 per cent. The doubling rate of infection in the state also improved on Thursday. As per government data, it would take 33.31 days for the cases to double in Jharkhand against the national average of 50.19 days.

The state was yet to begin vaccination for people in the age bracket of 18 to 44 years. On Wednesday, as many as 8163 residents above the age of 45 years were administered the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19, while 15,743 beneficiaries in the same age bracket were administered the second jab.