Chief minister Hemant Soren has announced that his government will provide free vaccines to all above 18 years of age from May 1 assuring the people of Jharkhand battling a ruthless second wave of Covid-19 that the government was taking all necessary steps to combat the virus and save lives.

Hemant's announcement came on Thursday night when Jharkhand reported its highest ever single-day spike as well as fatalities. As many as 7,595 new cases of Covid-19 were detected across the state and 106 mortalities were registered, the maximum from Ranchi (53) making it as the grimmest day for the entire state since the outbreak of the virus in March last year.

Coincidentally, Jharkhand also moved to a seven-day lockdown, which the authorities have termed as "health safety week" to break the transmission chain.

Hemant made the announcement about free vaccines through his official twitter handle. “State government will provide free vaccination to all its people aged above 18. In these tiring times, state government is working day and night to fight the pandemic. We are hopeful that with people’s support, Jharkhand will effectively fight and defeat the deadly pandemic," he wrote.

Earlier in the day, Hemant also held meetings with representatives of private and public hospitals to take stock of the situation and collect feedback on efforts and shortcomings in dealing with the surging cases.

Along with skyrocketing Covid cases in Jharkhand in the last few weeks, the health infrastructure, cutting across government and private hospitals, has come under immense pressure, so much so that patients are struggling to get timely admission for treatment.

Reports suggested that at many hospitals, admitted patients were struggling to get proper treatment, battling shortage of oxygen and crucial life-saving drugs. The situation turned so grim, mainly in the capital, that it forced Jharkhand High Court to comment recently that the state was reeling under a "medical emergency".