The State Government has intensified vigil on visitors from other states in the wake of a rise in cases of Covid-19 infection in several States including Maharashtra, which has direct flights to Ranchi, officials said on Wednesday.
The health machinery in Jharkhand is primarily focusing on the Covid trend in Ranchi — the only district which has direct connectivity with almost all the major cities in India. While the testing rate here is likely to be increased, the district administration has also made Covid tests mandatory for passengers landing at the Birsa Munda Airport from states that have witnessed a spike in cases, officials said.
“Tests are being conducted at the airport as well as railway stations in Ranchi for passengers coming from states which have reported a sudden spike in cases,” said Ranchi Civil Surgeon, Dr VB Prasad.
Ranchi is not only the district with highest number of active cases in Jharkhand, but also the second worst-affected in terms of Covid casualties. As per figures with the National Health Mission (NHM), at least 261 of Jharkhand’s 447 active Covid patients were residents of Ranchi.
The district has also reported 244 Covid casualties, which is only lower than East Singhbhum’s 356 Covid fatalities reported so far.
While the trajectory of active cases in the capital witnessed a downward trend in the first week of February, cases have been on the rise here lately, becoming a cause for concern for the health machinery. As per Government data, the number of active cases in Ranchi had dropped below 200 on February 6. However, the trend of fresh cases outnumbering Covid recoveries has caused a spike of more than 60 in the number of active cases in hardly 18 days here.
Owing to the rise in active cases, the district administration has intensified Covid testing here. At least 17 new Covid testing centres were set up across the district to ensure that at least 1,000 people are tested for Covid-19 in Ranchi every day. Health officials said that Ranchi may witnesses a further surge in Covid cases due to the increase in the number of testing.
Ranchi is the only district in Jharkhand with a triple-digit count of active cases. East Singhbhum, the district with the second highest number of active cases, had only 61 patients, as per an NHM bulletin released on Wednesday morning.
Ranchi has the only airport in Jharkhand which ferries patients to cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore — the cities that have witnessed a spike in Covid cases lately.