The active caseload of Covid-19 increased in Jharkhand on Monday while two more patients died after weeks of recording a downward trend in both active cases and fatalities.

Jharkhand reported 64 cases against 53 Covid recoveries and the active caseload reached 336 on Monday, data compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) highlighted. The two fresh casualties, both reported in Bokaro, took the Covid toll in the state to 5,122.

At least six cases against two recoveries took the active caseload in Ranchi to 67, while 22 cases against zero recoveries took the active caseload in Godda to 26. East Singhbhum reported seven recoveries against three cases which brought the active caseload there down to 40. Bokaro, on the other hand, reported 10 cases against seven recoveries and the active caseload in the district rose to 30.

At least nine Jharkhand districts – Saraikela, Palamu, Pakur, Lohardaga, Khunti, Jamtara, Gumla, Giridih, Garhwa and Chatra – did not report fresh cases of Covid-19 on the day.

The state on Monday tested swab samples of 59,751 residents and 0.10 per cent of them were found infected by Coronavirus. As per government data, over 3.46 lakh people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the state so far and 98.42 per cent of them have recovered. However, 1.47 per cent of patients could not survive.

While Covid cases saw an upward trend, Jharkhand also failed to achieve satisfactory vaccination figures for the second day in a row on Monday as less than 30,000 beneficiaries were inoculated against Covid-19. As per provisional data released by the NHM, at least 20,396 residents were administered the first dose of vaccine, while the second jab was administered to only 6,309 beneficiaries.

As per government data, the growth rate of Covid in Jharkhand was 0.01 per cent against the national average of 0.09 per cent on Monday, while the doubling rate of cases in the state reached 5034.75 days against the national doubling rate of 760.17 days.

No fresh cases of Covid-induced mucormycosis were reported in the state on Monday, while the black fungus toll also did not rise. As per data with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), the state has reported 100 confirmed and 59 suspected cases of mucormycosis so far and 30 patients have died, while 95 have recovered.

Special training

Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday gave his go-ahead to a special Covid-19 healthcare frontline workers training programme in seven Jharkhand districts – Ranchi, Koderma, Hazaribag, Chatra, Palamu, Dumka and Deoghar – to prepare manpower for combating a possible third wave of the pandemic.

Under this programme, frontline and healthcare workers would be imparted a special 21-day training followed by a three-month on-job experience in hospitals, a press communique from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) stated.

The training sessions will be conducted under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) following the Centre’s directive to all the states and Union territories to impart special training to their healthcare and frontline workers for better management and treatment of patients during any future wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.