The Covid situation in Jharkhand showed further improvement during the past one month.

The active caseload that stood at 223 on the state a month ago, slid to 133 on Saturday evening while the number of new cases also went down from 30 to 9.

According to data released by the state health department, no new case was found in 20 of the total 24 districts on Saturday.

Of the 9 new cases detected in the state on that day, 6 were detected in Ranchi district alone while East Singhbhum, Hazaribagh and Sahibganj districts had one each.

One Covid death was recorded in Dhanbad on Saturday, the second in the state since August 17 when another Covid patient had died in the same district.

Of the total 133 active cases in the state on Saturday, Ranchi alone 84 or 73 per cent caseload while Jamtara was the only other district where the number of cases was in double digit of 13.

Among the rest 22 districts, 6 districts — Dumka, Giridih, Gumla, Koderma, Pakur and Palamau — did not have a single active case on that day while East Singhbhum had the maximum 8 active cases. All 15 other districts had less than 5 cases each.

The recovery rate in the state 98.48 per cent on Saturday compared to the national figure of 97.40 per cent.

“Ranchi being the gateway of the state, people from many other Covid-affected states and even abroad are coming here everyday and being detected Covid-19 positive on arrival,” Dr Prabhat Kumar, head of Covid-19 task force at Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, replied when asked why Ranchi had maximum Covid patients in the state, adding many of them may belong to other districts but were found positive after put on test in Ranchi.

The infection can be checked if people adhered to Covid-appropriate behaviour and also got vaccinated at the earliest, he further said.

Puri heritage

A heritage tour began in Puri on Sunday to promote the rich culture of the holy town in Odisha. Fifty-three famous heritage locations like mathas, temples and ashrams have been identified and divided into five cycling and walking routes, the Puri district administration said on Twitter.

"Every Sunday, a group of 40 children from government schools take this educative ride with guides and volunteers," it said.

A quiz contest would also be held at the end of the tour and winners will be rewarded.

The ride and walk will be open for tourists and senior citizens very soon, it added.