Passengers travelling to Jharkhand from 'high-positivity' states like Maharashtra and Kerala shall have to either undergo mandatory Covid-19 test or be asked to produce a report of Covid test conducted through RT PCR within 72 hours of entering Jharkhand territory, Health Secretary KK Soan has written in a letter addressed to the Disaster Management Secretary.
While all passengers travelling to the state from Maharashtra and Kerala by air will have to be either tested on the spot or produce a Covid test report, those travelling by bus or train will have to be tested by the concerned district surveillance unit. “Those travelling by bus or train may be appropriately stamped and subjected to Covid-19 testing by the concerned district surveillance unit,” Soan’s letter stated.
The health secretary's letter to the Disaster Management Department comes in the wake of a sudden spike in cases of Covid-19 infection across the country with Jharkhand being no exception.
The state on Wednesday reported 196 cases of Covid-19 infection, the highest single-day-spike since February, taking the count of active cases to 969, a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM) stated.
Jharkhand also reported two Covid casualties on the day, one each from Ranchi and Deoghar, taking the Covid toll in the state to 1100. Ranchi alone reported 93 cases against 45 recoveries on the day, taking the count of active cases here to 452. As many as 77 Covid patients recovered across Jharkhand on the day.
As per government data, more than 1.21 lakh people have been infected by the mysterious virus in Jharkhand so far and over 98 per cent of them have recovered. The growth rate in the state was 0.09 per cent against the national average of 0.27 per cent, while the doubling rate in Jharkhand was 790 days against the national average of over 256 days.
In the wake of the growing cases of Covid-19, the Ranchi administration has directed enforcement of section 144 of the CrPC across the district during Holi. Ranchi is not only the worst-affected district in Jharkhand, but also the only district to have direct connectivity with most of the major cities across India.
The reason behind the sudden spike in cases here could be attributed to the city’s connectivity with high-positivity states, said health officials. Ranchi has direct flights and trains to Mumbai, which has emerged as a hotspot of Covid-19 infection during the second wave of the virus.
The state is also focusing on speeding up the vaccination drive to lessen the impact of the new wave of the virus. As per government data, so far as many as 12,28,408 people have been administered the first dose of the Covishield vaccine, while 2,33,843 beneficiaries have got the second dose as well.
